1. Invertebrate biomechanics
S.N. Patek, A.P. Summers 
Current Biology 
Volume 27, Issue 10, Pages R371-R375 (May 2017)
DOI: /j.cub
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2. Figure 1
Marine worms build burrows by fracturing mud and extending these small cracks to form tunnels.
(A) Granular, optical gels mimic the properties of mud to reveal the dynamics of burrowing. Shifts in light diffraction indicate the varying magnitude and direction of burrowing forces. Reprinted by permission from Macmillan Publishers Ltd: Nature, Dorgan et al. copyright (B) Worms can produce a remarkable array of shapes and forces with their soft, hydrostatic skeleton and diverse alignments of musculature. They begin fracture by making the anterior end of their body into a spade-like shape (i) that then pushes forward to extend the crack (ii). They then anchor their bodies by pushing against the sides of the burrow (iii) and move their body forward to begin the process again (iv). Reproduced with permission from Journal of Experimental Biology: jeb.biologists.org, Che and Dorgan (2010).
Current Biology  , R371-R375DOI: ( /j.cub )
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3. Figure 2
The small scale of insect flight predator–prey dynamics combined with the advent of high resolution high speed imaging has revealed a new realm of ecological biomechanics.
(A) A flight arena for measuring the ecology and kinematics of insect interactions can simply consist of a screened arena with naturalistic components, such as trees, bushes and small ponds surrounded by a network of synchronized high speed video cameras. (B) By tracking flight with multiple cameras, the dynamics of two flying insects can be measured. Here a dragonfly (black) chases a fruit fly (red) in a three dimensional space and first tries (blue X) then succeeds (green star) at capturing the fruit fly. In addition to the spatial measurements, the distinct characteristics of their flight paths can be easily distinguished by the greater accelerations of the dragonfly and larger radius of curvature and turning rates of the fruit fly. Reproduced with permission from Journal of Experimental Biology: jeb.biologists.org, Combes et al. (2012).
Current Biology  , R371-R375DOI: ( /j.cub )
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4. Figure 3
The remarkable performance and rich evolutionary diversity of spider silk informs engineering synthesis strategies.
(A) Using standard materials testing, spider silk can be compared to other biological and engineered materials on the basis of stress (force/cross-sectional area) and strain (change in length/initial length). From Ko et al. (2001), reproduced with permission. (B) Evolutionary analyses of spider silk properties pinpoint the species that should be examined for particular material characteristics. The spider silk that supports orb webs (major ampullate silk) originated over 350 million years ago and initially had fairly limited capabilities in terms of stress and strain. During its evolutionary diversification, the uses and capabilities of the materials diversified substantially to fill a considerable space (gray region) of stress, strain, strength, toughness and extensibility. The combination of evolutionary and ecological analyses with the understanding of the molecular basis for these shifts in material properties now inform biosynthesis of silk proteins with targeted properties. Reprinted by permission from Macmillan Publishers Ltd: Scientific Reports, Blackledge et al. copyright 2012.
Current Biology  , R371-R375DOI: ( /j.cub )
Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd Terms and Conditions