adhere to water
71. Peptides protect from bacterial infection: African clawed frog
"AMPs [antimicrobial peptides] appear in multiple niches in nature including the skin of higher organisms and the extracellular milieu of bacteria as the primary line of defense against bacteria and fungi. AMPs are much more stable than typical gl...
Bookmark
Email
72. Body buffers thermal variations: sea star
"The body temperature of ectotherms is influenced by the interaction of abiotic conditions, morphology, and behavior. Although organisms living in different thermal habitats may exhibit morphological plasticity or move from unfavorable locations, ...
73. Curli allow Salmonella to adhere to Teflon and stainless steel.
“Structurally and biochemically, curli belong to a growing class of fibers known as amyloids…Biofilm formation is a multi-step developmental process that includes at least five distinguishable steps: (a) reversible attachment, (b) irreversible...
74. Beetle wing condenses water in dry climate.
"Desert magician, a darkling beetle conjures moisture where there appears to be none. Even in Africa's harsh Namib Desert, dew forms at daybreak. As condensation forms on its shiny exoskelton, the beetle tilts forward, sending water down its body ...
75. Expanding barbules hold water.
Most birds develop multiple strategies to avoid saturation of their feathers. The sandgrouse is a notable exception; sandgrouse feathers are adapted to hold water. These birds live mostly in dry sandy deserts and scrubland. When breeding, the bird...
76. Wiry tangles capture fog: lichens
"The Namib close to the coast does, however, have one source of moisture that most deserts lack. Almost every day, a fog rolls in from the sea, billowing across the dunes. On slopes where little else can survive, a lichen grows in a great orange c...
77. Reducing surface tension to travel on water: rove beetle
"A small beetle, Stenus, normally walks slowly on the surface. When speed is desired, through, it secretes a substance from its last abdominal segment that locally reduces the surface tension. The result is an asymmetrical force on the beetle, whi...
78. Body changes stiffness: sea cucumber
"Catch connective tissues or mutable collagenous tissues of echinoderms can extensively change their mechanical properties such as elasticity and viscosity within a few minutes under the regulation of their nervous system. The tissues contain a la...
79. Behavior adapts to threats: chestnut-sided oropendola
"One of the most complex examples of brood parasitism features the giant cowbird (Scaphidura oryzivora). These natives of Central and South America generally parasitize other birds in the same family, the icterids. They particularly favor the huge...
80. Hooks adhere to wooly coats: burdock
"Calyx globular, formed of numerous narrow scales, each tipped with a little incurved hook, by means of which the whole calyx, when laden with ripe seed, easily separating from its stalk, adheres to the hairy or wooly coats of animals, who can sca...
search tools
- If you would like to save this search, please login.
