how woodpeckers avoid head injury
Last Updated : GMT 09:40:38
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle
Last Updated : GMT 09:40:38
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle

How woodpeckers avoid head injury

Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle

Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicleHow woodpeckers avoid head injury

London - Arabstoday

Slow-motion footage, X-ray images and computer simulations have shed light on how woodpeckers avoid injuries to their brains as they peck.Their heads move some 6m per second, at each peck enduring a deceleration more than 1,000 times the force of gravity.But researchers reporting in Plos One say that unequal upper and lower beak lengths and spongy, plate-like bone structure protect the birds\' brains.The findings could help design more effective head protection for humans.For years, scientists have examined the anatomy of woodpeckers\' skulls to find out how they pull off their powerful pecking without causing themselves harm.The birds have little \"sub-dural space\" between their brains and their skulls, so the brain does not have room to bump around as it does in humans. Also, their brains are longer top-to-bottom than front-to-back, meaning the force against the skull is spread over a larger brain area.A highly-developed bone called the hyoid - which in humans gives the \"Adam\'s apple\" - has also been studied: starting at the underside of the birds\' beaks, it makes a full loop through their nostrils, under and around the back of their skulls, over the top and meeting again before the forehead.However, Ming Zhang of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, a co-author of the new work, said that he and his colleagues wanted to get to the bottom of the problem numerically.\"We thought that most of the previous studies were limited to the qualitative answer to this question,\" he told BBC News.\"More quantitative studies are necessary to answer this interesting problem, which would aid in applying the bio-mechanism to human protective device design and even to some industry design.\"First, the team had a look at woodpeckers in a controlled environment: two slow-motion cameras captured images of the birds striking a force sensor that measured their pecking power.They found that the birds slightly turn their heads as they peck, which influences how forces are transmitted.The team also gathered computed tomography and scanning electron microscope analyses of woodpecker skulls, laying out in detail how the parts fit together and where bone density varied.With those data in hand, they were able to use a computer simulation to calculate the forces throughout the birds\' skulls in the process of pecking.The team\'s simulations showed that three factors were at work in sparing the birds injury.Firstly, the hyoid bone\'s looping structure around the whole skull was found to act as a \"safety belt\", especially after the initial impact.The team also found that the upper and lower halves of the birds\' beaks were uneven, and as force was transmitted from the tip of the beak into the bone, this asymmetry lowered the load that made it as far as the brain.Lastly, plate-like bones with a \"spongy\" structure at different points in the skull helped distribute the incoming force, thereby protecting the brain.The team stresses that it is the combination of the three, rather than any one feature, that keeps woodpeckers pecking without injury.

themuslimchronicle
themuslimchronicle

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

how woodpeckers avoid head injury how woodpeckers avoid head injury

 



Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle

GMT 09:08 2017 Monday ,18 December

Lufthansa wants to 'destroy' Niki airline

GMT 08:31 2017 Tuesday ,07 March

Deutsche Bank drags European equities lower

GMT 10:56 2017 Sunday ,17 December

Shikhar sure India won’t wilt under the pressure

GMT 10:08 2017 Friday ,15 September

Pakistan's fatal attraction to celebratory gunfire

GMT 21:43 2017 Thursday ,09 February

Al Attiyah left Tunisia to Genève

GMT 08:59 2018 Monday ,08 January

Europe casts a wary eye on China's Silk Road plans

GMT 10:05 2016 Monday ,10 October

Trump's locker-room comment riles US athletes

GMT 13:59 2011 Wednesday ,27 July

Journalist Salameh at death’s door

GMT 11:37 2017 Saturday ,23 December

Major powers seek to hold Sochi congress

GMT 03:03 2016 Tuesday ,28 June

'I'm still alive' jokes Queen Elizabeth
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle
 
 Themuslimchronicle Facebook,themuslimchronicle facebook  Themuslimchronicle Twitter,themuslimchronicle twitter Themuslimchronicle Rss,themuslimchronicle rss  Themuslimchronicle Youtube,themuslimchronicle youtube  Themuslimchronicle Youtube,themuslimchronicle youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2023 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2023 ©

muslimchronicle muslimchronicle muslimchronicle muslimchronicle
themuslimchronicle themuslimchronicle themuslimchronicle
themuslimchronicle
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle