(cont'd from this post)
Imagine an Olympic long-jumper clearing two whole football fields. That sort of thing can't really happen. But it does happen in the world of a planthopper, which can jump 100x its body length.
From studying this bug with special cameras, scientists at Cambridge found out that it coordinates the motion of its legs with incredibly precise gears so that its legs are in perfect sync for maximum power.
A branch of engineering called "biomimetics" makes engineering progress by mimicking biology. For example, the study of dragonfly wings enabled better efficiency in the building of wind turbines.
(cont'd tomorrow)
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