Tuesday 18 September 2012

Are Our Bones Well Designed? Insects and Crabs Have a Leg Up On Us

ScienceDaily (Sep. 12, 2012) — Researchers from Trinity College Dublin have recently shown that the legs of grasshoppers and crabs have the ideal shape to resist bending and compression. If human leg bones were built the same way, they could be twice as strong.

"Like all Arthropods, grasshoppers and crabs have so called exoskeletons made from a very special material called cuticle," said Professor David Taylor, of the Trinity Centre for Bioengineering at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland. "This exoskeleton protects the animal like a knight's suit of armour. Recently we have shown that this cuticle is in fact one of the toughest natural materials."

Continued:
  http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120912084432.htm

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