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MAY 17, 2004
Edited by Catherine Arnst Wondering What Makes Spiders' Legs So Sticky Spider-Man has nothing on the real thing. Thanks to phenomenally sticky feet, certain spiders can carry 170 times their weight upside-down. The team of German and Swiss scientists who made this discovery are hoping it will pave the way for superstrong gummed note papers that stay put even when wet, "or boots that allow astronauts to walk on the floors of their spaceship in zero gravity," says Andrew Martin of Germany's Institute of Technical Zoology & Bionics. The research was reported in the Apr. 19 issue of the journal Smart Materials & Structures. The spider's super-stickiness stems from minuscule hairs on its feet that grow just nanometers apart. These so-called setules, which are actually hairs growing on bigger hairs, create an irresistible pull between them, known as the van der Waals force. Unlike the adhesive glues used by houseflies and many other insects, this force is not affected by the surrounding environment: The spider can adhere to any surface -- dry, wet, or greasy. Perfect for an afternoon stroll on the ceiling. By Rachel Tiplady This Aerobot Really Flaps Its Wings Unlike Icarus, planes that fly by flapping their wings haven't soared very high. Recently, though, several researchers have launched flapping-wing robots the size of large insects. Now, one group is working on a bigger flapper -- solar-powered, so there's no downside to flying closer to the sun. Roughly the size of an eagle, the aerobot being hatched at University of Missouri at Rolla will feature artificial muscles, eliminating the need for motors and gears. Muscle power is provided by a special plastic that flexes like a real muscle when stimulated electrically, says K.M. Isaac, professor of aerospace engineering. And its wings will morph, changing shape to achieve better efficiency when gliding instead of flapping. If all goes as planned, the robo eagle will soak up solar energy during the day, then use its muscles to gain enough altitude before dark to glide through the night. NASA is funding the development of the wings, and Isaac hopes the agency next will pay for a complete model of a craft that could be unleashed in the atmosphere of Mars. By Otis Port   Out Of The Lecture Hall, Into The Lab Some leading academics are calling on U.S. universities to teach science the way science is done -- by involving students in the process of discovery rather than plunking them down in lecture halls. The Apr. 23 issue of Science presents fresh evidence that learning improves when lectures are mostly replaced by hands-on involvement. Science education in the U.S. suffers in part because universities reward professors for research rather than teaching skills, says the Science article. It argues for eliminating "cookbook labs," in which students replicate experiments where the results are already known. "Many students attend research universities because of the strength of the science being performed, but they get turned off in introductory courses and never look back," says co-author Peter J. Bruns of Howard Hughes Medical Institute. "We need those bright young minds." Innovations Of new teeth -- and a sea of plastic -- Genetic researcher Paul Sharpe at King's College London has successfully grown natural teeth in a mouse's mouth in a matter of weeks. He starts with a cluster of stem cells that are inserted into the gums. The new tooth grows into the jawbone and hooks itself up to the local blood and nerve supply. Sharpe's company, Odontis Ltd., has just landed $900,000 in public and private financing to test the technique on more mice before turning their hands to human mouths, possibly in about two years. -- Ugly as it is, the debris washing up on our beaches is only the tip of a huge plastic iceberg, scientists report. While bigger items such as bottles and netting float to our shores and become eyesores on the sand, unseen tons of plastic are broken down into tiny particles by the tides and marine life. Researchers at Britain's University of Plymouth have studied the northeastern Atlantic Ocean and discovered that, after 40 years of such action, the seabed is full of nonbiodegradable plastic particles. They are now studying ways to determine the environmental impact. By Rachel Tiplady
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