2013
DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2012.2868
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Rapid preflexes in smooth adhesive pads of insects prevent sudden detachment

Abstract: Many insects possess adhesive organs that can produce extreme attachment forces of more than 100 times body weight but they can rapidly release adhesion to allow locomotion. During walking, weaver ants (Oecophylla smaragdina) use only a fraction of their maximally available contact area, even upside-down on a smooth surface. To test whether the reduced contact area makes the ants more susceptible to sudden and unexpected detachment forces, for example, by rain or wind gusts, we investigated the reaction of unt… Show more

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Cited by 27 publications
(24 citation statements)
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“…f Rapid increase in adhesive contact area in stick insects ( Carausius morosus ) in response to a rapid displacement of the substrate. Adapted from [ 121 ]. g B16 melanoma cell (expressing fluorescent marker for focal adhesions) before and 5 minutes after displacement of cell body by a microneedle (direction shown by arrow), showing growth of peripheral focal contacts in the region opposite the cell body (enlarged in insets), stimulated by tension.…”
Section: Reversible Adhesion In Climbing Animals - Is It Similar To Cmentioning
confidence: 99%
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“…f Rapid increase in adhesive contact area in stick insects ( Carausius morosus ) in response to a rapid displacement of the substrate. Adapted from [ 121 ]. g B16 melanoma cell (expressing fluorescent marker for focal adhesions) before and 5 minutes after displacement of cell body by a microneedle (direction shown by arrow), showing growth of peripheral focal contacts in the region opposite the cell body (enlarged in insets), stimulated by tension.…”
Section: Reversible Adhesion In Climbing Animals - Is It Similar To Cmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Passive ‘preflex’ reactions do not depend on the neuromuscular system and thus have the advantage that they can occur extremely rapidly, thereby preventing detachment by unexpected perturbations such as raindrops (Fig. 3f ) [ 116 ].…”
Section: Reversible Adhesion In Climbing Animals - Is It Similar To Cmentioning
confidence: 99%
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“…Many insects, spiders, lizards and tree frogs can climb on plants and in the canopy of trees by employing adhesive footpads, which allow them to switch between strong attachment and effortless detachment within fractions of a second [1,2,3,4]. The functional principles underlying this impressive dynamic control of attachment forces have attracted considerable interest amongst physicists, engineers and biologists, aiming to develop technical adhesives with similar properties [5].…”
mentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Of course, the signals travel through neural tracts in humans, but postural adaptations occur faster than neural transmission allows in multicellular organisms much smaller than humans posing shorter neural distances to traverse (e.g., Endlein & Federle, 2013) but also in humans, supporting quiet standing (Marsden, Merton, & Morton, 1983), speech (Kelso, Tuller, Vatikiotis-Bateson, & Fowler, 1984), and hopping (Moritz & Farley, 2004). The connective tissues constitute a hierarchically organized network of small prestressed structures (e.g., at the level of actin filaments composing a single cell's skeleton) nested within larger prestressed structures (e.g., extracellular matrix) nested within yet larger pre-stressed structures (e.g., the fascial encasings around muscles and joints).…”
mentioning
confidence: 99%