{"id":123803,"date":"2024-08-29T13:55:15","date_gmt":"2024-08-29T13:55:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/08\/29\/how-an-arthropod-pulls-off-the-worlds-fastest-backflip\/"},"modified":"2024-08-29T13:55:16","modified_gmt":"2024-08-29T13:55:16","slug":"how-an-arthropod-pulls-off-the-worlds-fastest-backflip","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/08\/29\/how-an-arthropod-pulls-off-the-worlds-fastest-backflip\/","title":{"rendered":"How an arthropod pulls off the world&#8217;s fastest backflip"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sciencenews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/j_lambert.jpg?resize=214%2C214&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"How an arthropod pulls off the world&#8217;s fastest backflip\" title=\"How an arthropod pulls off the world&#8217;s fastest backflip\" \/><\/div> \r\n<br><div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"rich-text rich-text--with-sidebar single__rich-text___RmCDp\" data-component=\"video-embed\">\n\t\t\t\t\n\n\n\n\n<p>Move over, Simone Biles. Nature\u2019s gold medalist for backflips is a millimeter-tall arthropod that can barely straddle the tip of a pencil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite its size, the globular springtail (<em>Dicyrtomina minuta<\/em>) can vault itself 60 mm in the air, <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1093\/iob\/obae029\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">spinning at a rate as fast as 368 times per second<\/a>, researchers report August 29 in <em>Integrative Organismal Biology<\/em>.\u00a0Blink and you\u2019ll miss this super-flipper, though, as its jump lasts just 161 milliseconds, on average.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cNothing on Earth does a backflip faster than a globular springtail,\u201d says biologist Adrian Smith of North Carolina State University in Raleigh. \u201cThey\u2019re extraordinary, but also ordinary.\u201d The arthropods that Smith used in the study \u201care literally from my backyard,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><p>\n<div class=\"youtube-embed\" data-video_id=\"Qh2A96Z8tTs\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"When it comes to backflips, springtails are the GOAT | Science News\" width=\"696\" height=\"392\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Qh2A96Z8tTs?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/p><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">To see exactly how globular springtails do backflips, researchers had to use a high-speed camera. What they found was astounding: When a springtail lifts off, it travels as fast as 1.5 meters per second and can spin up to 29 times in the blink of an eye.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Globular springtails jump so fast that they often seem to simply vanish, Smith says, a useful trick for evading predators. To reveal the secrets of the arthropods\u2019 escape acrobatics, he and biomechanist Jacob Harrison of Georgia Tech in Atlanta analyzed high-speed footage of more than a dozen bugs from liftoff to landing.<\/p>\n\n\n<aside class=\"sn-conversion rich-text rich-text--with-sidebar\">\n<style><![CDATA[\n.email-conversion {\n  border: 1px solid #ffcccb;\n  color: white;\n  margin-top: 50px;\n  background-image: url(\"\/wp-content\/themes\/sciencenews\/client\/src\/images\/cta-module@2x.jpg\");\n  padding: 20px;\n  clear: both;\n}\n\n]]><\/style>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\" style=\"clear:both\">\n<style><![CDATA[\n.subscribe-cta {\n  color: black;\n  margin-top: 0px;\n  background-color: #EDD695;\n  background-size: cover;\n  padding: 20px;\n  border: 1px solid black;\n  border-top: 5px solid black;\n  clear: both;\n}\n\n.centered {\n  text-align:center;\n  margin:auto;\n}\n\n]]><\/style>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"subscribeConversion\" class=\"wp-block-group subscribe-cta\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\" style=\"font-size:2em\">Extreme Climate Survey<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\" style=\"font-size:1.1em\"><strong><em>Science News <\/em>is collecting reader questions about how to navigate our planet&#8217;s changing climate.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\" style=\"font-size:1.1em\">What do you want to know about extreme heat and how it can lead to extreme weather events?<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Liftoff starts with a thump, as the springtail lets loose a springlike appendage called the furca <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencenews.org\/article\/video-springtails-jumps-collembola\">from its underbelly<\/a> (<em>SN: 11\/7\/22<\/em>). That thump propels the arthropods backward as fast as 1.5 meters per second, on average, the researchers found. While airborne, the globs spin anywhere from 14 to 29 times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some flights end less than gracefully, with springtails crashing back to Earth and bouncing about until they come to a stop. More often, the bugs stuck the landing by deploying a sticky tube typically used for grooming, the team found. \u201cIt\u2019s a sort of anchor that pulls them to their feet so they can get on with their day,\u201d Smith says.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe sometimes get told that the only exciting parts of nature are fossilized in the ground or hidden in a tropical rainforest somewhere,\u201d Smith says. To him, these springtails show that everyday organisms are pulling off incredible feats all around us, we just have to look.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\t\t\t<\/div> <!-- \/.rich-text -->\n\t\t\t\n<footer class=\"article-footer__wrapper___eChRS article-footer__with-sidebar___9oDuK\">\n\t\t\t<p class=\"article-footer__feedback___sNXjz\">Questions or comments on this article? E-mail us at\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencenews.org\/article\/mailto:feedback@sciencenews.org\">feedback@sciencenews.org<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencenews.org\/permission-republish\">Reprints FAQ<\/a><\/p>\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\t\n<div class=\"author-bio__wrapper___ODe-4\">\n\t\t\t<figure class=\"author-bio__figure___e3jd0\">\n\t\t\t<a class=\"author-bio__thumbnail___TixlC\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencenews.org\/author\/jonathan-lambert\" aria-hidden=\"true\" tabindex=\"-1\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\n\t<div class=\"author-bio__content___F9GU3\">\n\t\t\n\n\t\t<div class=\"author-bio__bio___jkxvt\">\n\t\t\t<p>Jonathan Lambert is a former staff writer for biological sciences, covering everything from the origin of species to microbial ecology. He has a master\u2019s degree in evolutionary biology from Cornell University.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\t<aside class=\"sn-conversion rich-text rich-text--with-sidebar\">\n<style><![CDATA[\n.donate-box {\n  border-top: 7px solid red !important;\n  border: 1px solid #ffcccb;\n  margin-top: 50px;\n  background-color: #fdfbf2;\n  padding: 20px;\n}\n.from-nature-index__heading___AhgOe {\n  display: none;\n}\n]]><\/style>\n\n\n\n<style><![CDATA[\n.from-nature-index__heading___AhgOe {\n    display: none;\n}\n]]><\/style>\n<div id=\"donateConversion\" class=\"wp-block-group donate-box\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left\" style=\"font-size:1.1em\">\nWe are at a critical time and <mark><strong>supporting climate journalism is more important than ever.<\/strong><\/mark> Science News and our parent organization, the Society for Science, need your help to strengthen environmental literacy and ensure that our response to climate change is informed by science.\n \n<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left\" style=\"font-size:1.1em\">\nPlease\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencenews.org\/subscribe1-print-digital?key=9MENDTEST&amp;utm_source=end-of-article&amp;utm_medium=site&amp;utm_campaign=non-sub-control\">\nsubscribe to <em>Science News<\/em> and <strong>add $16<\/strong><\/a> to expand\nscience literacy and understanding.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/aside><\/footer>\n\t\t<\/aside><\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<aside class=\"single__sidebar___A2uoe\">\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"ad-block__mq-wrapper ad-block-sidebar__wrapper___-VwzJ ad-block-sidebar__freestar___92vhb\">\n\t\n<\/section>\n\n<section class=\"ad-block__mq-wrapper ad-block-sticky-sidebar__wrapper___Te-qO freestar\">\n\t\n<\/section>\n\t\t\t<\/aside>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n<br>\r\n<br><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencenews.org\/article\/arthropod-world-fastest-backflip\">Source link <\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Move over, Simone Biles. Nature\u2019s gold medalist for backflips is a millimeter-tall arthropod that can barely straddle the tip of a pencil. Despite its size, the globular springtail (Dicyrtomina minuta) can vault itself 60 mm in the air, spinning at a rate as fast as 368 times per second, researchers report August 29 in Integrative [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":123804,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sciencenews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/j_lambert.jpg?resize=214%2C214&ssl=1","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[606],"tags":[100467,100468,16731,5409,2306],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123803"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=123803"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123803\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":123805,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123803\/revisions\/123805"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/123804"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=123803"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=123803"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=123803"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}