Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • BBC Science Focus Magazine

    THE BIO BOTS

    Feb 16, 2022 5 minutes
    WORDS: HAYLEY BENNETT
    by
    HAYLEY BENNETT

    BAT KIT CRAZY

    at flight is fiendishly complex, requiring a system of muscles, bones and joints that incorporate folding of the wings in every wingbeat. The force that bat wings generate comes from a strong but flexible covering of skin, as opposed to the rigid feathers used by birds. Basically, of all the flying beasts in the world, if you’re going to pick one to try to emulate, don’t pick a bat. Except that’s exactly what US researchers did when they created this robotic bat, dubbed ‘B2’, to help them understand bat flight. In an article published in the journal , they explain how they stretched a 56-micrometre-thick (one micrometre = one-thousandth of a millimetre), silicone-based skin over B2’s wings, enabling it “to morph its

    You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

    More from BBC Science Focus Magazine

    BBC Science Focus Magazine1 min readDiet & Nutrition
    Proffee: Should I Be Adding Protein To My Coffee?
    TikTokkers have been mixing protein powder into their coffee as a convenient way to increase their protein intake, a combination that has become known as ‘proffee’. It isn't necessarily harmful, but there are a few factors to consider. Firstly, prote
    BBC Science Focus Magazine2 min readAddiction
    New Study Suggests Smoking Increases Hidden Belly Fat
    Stereotypes of smokers include the slender, chic Parisian type enjoying a cigarette while sitting outside a café. But a new study suggests that even slim smokers could be hiding an unhealthy type of fat inside their bodies. There's a common belief th
    BBC Science Focus Magazine8 min read
    The Eyes That Watch The Sky
    It's a rather delicious irony that one of the most valuable things to come out of the space programme wasn't the ability to look into the deepest regions of the Universe, but to look back at Earth; to see our world as a beautiful disc of white clouds

    Related Books & Audiobooks