Stay updated with breaking news from Harry Tuazon. Get real-time updates on events, politics, business, and more. Visit us for reliable news and exclusive interviews.
Despite our knack for tying knots in everything from shoelaces to laser beams, there is still a lot we humans can learn from a tiny tangle-inclined worm.
Boston MA (SPX) May 01, 2023 - As anyone who has ever unwound a string of holiday lights or detangled a lock of snarled hair knows, undoing a knot of fibers takes a lot longer than tangling it up in the first place. This is not s
Georgia Tech researchers wanted to understand precisely how blackworms execute tangling and ultrafast untangling movements for a myriad of biological functions. To investigate, they linked up with mathematicians at MIT to understand the topology of the tangles. Their research could inform the design of fiber-like, shapeshifting robotics that self-assemble and move in ways that are fast and reversible. The study also highlights how cross-disciplinary collaboration can answer some of the most perplexing questions in disparate fields.
California blackworms make a contribution to the math and physics of knot tying by demoing twisting motions that help them escape a tangled worm ball
A new study explains how California blackworms can twist and curl around each other by the thousands, forming tightly wound balls and then untangling just as quickly.