Questions tagged [bio-mechanics]

The study biological systems in regards to their ability to apply and respond to mechanical forces.

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How would an animal with legs longer than its torso perform?

The horror game Poppy Playtime features a monster called Catnap. Simply put, the creature has legs far longer than its torso, like a giraffe but minus the long neck (its based on a cat). The game ...
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Why do wasps have "wasp waists"? What's been optimized?

I photographed these (unidentified) wasps on a sunny but cool winter day in northern Taiwan because they were conspicuously hanging out on a hand railing and had much lighter coloring than I'd ever ...
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Movement of the Ribcage during movements of the Thoracic Spine

I want to find a rough relation between the angle of rotation of the thoracic spine and the corresponding segmental movements in the skeleton of the ribcage. I have come across some research which ...
Prakhar's user avatar
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Can a crocodile crack open a turtle's shell?

To put the question more accurately I consider the Saltwater Crocodile, which has been measured to have a bite force of 16.4 kN and estimates of up to 34 kN in 6.7-meters long individuals. For turtles ...
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Is there a detailed model of the resonance of the basilar membrane and excitation patterns of hair cells?

I've read that it's generally understood that deeper parts of the cochlea are sensitized to lower frequencies, and regions closer to the oval window are sensitive to high frequencies. In a sense, a ...
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D-Galactose effects on primates?

A lot of studies are made using D-Galactose as a accelerated aging model in rats and mice, but why not in non human primates? How much relevant is the galactose rat model for human health perpective? (...
Luiz Henrique Carareto's user avatar
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Proof of shape of epithelia cells

In this article, the mentioned in the introduction that the the optimal shape of epithelia cells in drosophila tissue is hexagonal (packing is approximately 6). Is there an article that proves ...
Remember's user avatar
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Are the muscles of all animals mechanically similar?

For instance, is the skeletal muscle of an elephant made of the same balance of fibers and cells as the skeletal muscle of a hippopotamus? I recognize that slow- and fast-twitch muscles are a thing, ...
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Calculate radius of curvature of DNA

I am using this article to calculate the radius of curvature of DNA. I know that 150bp segment of DNA length wraps itself 1.7 times around a histone core. There are 0.34nm/bp DNA's persistence length ...
Monya Feldman's user avatar
-2 votes
1 answer
302 views

What are the mechanical properties of human skeletal muscle?

TL;DR: I need more information on the mechanical properties of human skeletal muscle; if you have such information, please give it to me. I'm writing something on how much more effective (or otherwise)...
KEY_ABRADE's user avatar
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Biological reason for "deadlift face"?

Always when I deadlift at the maximum load, my face looks more or less like this: or this: The same applies for when I do other heavy-weight exercises. But what biological mechanism causes that? ...
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In human anatomy what is the purpose of measuring shoulder abduction and shoulder adduction separately if they cover the same range of motion?

In human anatomy what is the purpose of measuring shoulder abduction and shoulder adduction separately if they cover the same range of motion? For example, this video Goniometry Shoulder Abduction &...
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Actin-myosin cortex stiffness VS elasticity

I have two questions on the mechanics of actin-myosin network: 1- Actomyosin cortex as an elastic material is defined by its elastic modulus $E$. But I know that elasticity would be described by the ...
Remember's user avatar
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1 answer
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Biomechanics of cells (stress, strain, tension..)

I am confused about the difference between stress, strain, tension, pre-strain and prestress in cells (especially in in-vitro experiments, like cell spreading on a substrate, cell doublets, cell ...
Remember's user avatar
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Examples for oscillatory behaviour in the human body

I'm looking for examples in the human body which show periodicity, more precisely, I'm looking for examples of oscillating reactions that occur in the human body which can be modelled using the ...
E. Ginzburg's user avatar
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In human anatomy / biomechanics, what is the motion called when the arm swings sideways so the elbow moves in an arc of 90 degrees?

In human anatomy / biomechanics, what is the motion called when the arm swings sideways so the elbow moves in an arc of 90 degrees? So e.g. if a person was to elbow somebody behind them , or if ...
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The exact points of muscle attachment and the "equal and opposite force" that skeletal muscles apply

I've been trying to make a simple simulation of the human body executing some motions in Mathematica (the details are irrelevant), but I need to know some more information about muscles and how they ...
Pineapple Fish's user avatar
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why does water go from high to low osmotic pressure to decrease the size of the nucleus?

I am reading this paper "Volume regulation and shape bifurcation in the cell nucleus" (linked below) https://jcs.biologists.org/content/joces/128/18/3375.full.pdf I am confused by this ...
veraxxarev's user avatar
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What are kinesiological factors? [duplicate]

I am in search of a term that describes movement, or practice of motor skills, as a factor of laterality. Would "kinesiological" be appropriate? I'll leave my two previous questions down ...
AgentMFaith's user avatar
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Question about the basilar membrane mechanics (cochlea)

I am reading about the mechanics of the basilar membrane in the inner ear. In various publications, it is said that, at a specific position on the basilar membrane, the outer hair cells are activated ...
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Is there any small animal that can jump over a meter high/long?

By small, let's say less than 5 cm body length. I always thought that grasshoppers were the highest absolute jumpers in this class but the highest jump according to this article is 0.7 m...
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Why does the gravity of Earth appear in this formula estimating speed?

I'm currently reading the wonderful book The Dinosaurs Rediscovered by Michael J. Benton. It contains the formula $$v = 0.25 * g^{0.5} * SL^{1.67} * h^{-1.17}$$ where $v$ denotes velocity, $SL$ is ...
Joseph Doob's user avatar
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1 answer
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How lungs can inhale and exhale? [closed]

I know that lungs are extended and compacted by muscles to create partial vacuum to breath in, or to create elevated pressure to breath out. But one thing seems not right to me... As far as I know, ...
ScienceDiscoverer's user avatar
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Origins of the body mechanics theory

In physical therapy and occasionally in sports coaching, there's often a precise description of the mechanics of what happens during the movement (which muscles are engaged, which joint moves where ...
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Human femur maximum strength

In this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=os98s9kBlOI it is demonstrated that a moose leg bone can support until nearly 10 tonne before break. Is there any similar demonstration on human femurs? ...
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Movement of the Thoracic Cage During Movements of the Thoracic Spine

Just for a bit of context: I am trying to create a 3D digital model of the human skeleton as the first step towards computer generated muscle simulation, and as such I want the skeleton to be as ...
Robert Gregson's user avatar
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Do tarantulas and humans have the same mechanism for growing hair?

There's hair on my arms. Tarantulas also have hair on their arms. Is this the same type of hair?
OregonTrail's user avatar
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41 views

How does anaerobic burst-flight performance scale with mass?

Quails employ anaerobic burst flight to escape predators and the Quetzalcoatlus northropi have most likely used it during launch and climb out, then transition to soaring. Now, I have read these ...
Mephistopheles's user avatar
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Etymology of eccentric/concentric contractions

I was wondering if anyone knew why the terms eccentric and concentric were chosen to refer to lengthening and shortening muscle contractions? The basic etymology of the words are to do with ...
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Highest bite force of a wolf?

Some sites say wolves can bite around 400 psi. But this site claims that when facing a peril they can deliver upto 1200 ?https://plexidors.com/myths-around-dog-bite-force/(skip to the 'How does that ...
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Why does resting potential not become continually more negative?

(Firstly, I know this is similar to other questions, but I have read those answers and they do not really cover this topic). My understanding of resting potential: action potential is not being ...
Ben Hughes's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
99 views

Tensile strength of collagen?

Really specific question, but what is the average tensile strength of human collagen, type I? I've tried looking for it online, and either my google-fu skills are weak, or I'm just unlucky. Also, is ...
tox123's user avatar
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1 vote
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about the muscle's tension's variables

I'm reading the paper "THE PROBLEM OF THE INTERRELATION OF CO-ORDINATION AND LOCALIZATION", which is written by N. Bernstein. The paper said "The degree of tension of a muscle is a function, in the ...
Kim Jaewoo's user avatar
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2k views

Bite Force of Triceratops

Estimations (or measurements) of bite force is usually conducted for toothy predators like sharks, theropod dinosaurs and crocodiles. For example: Tyrannosaurus had a bite force of about 57 kN (about ...
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How are ants able to dig with such pointy limbs?

Digging is usually efficient with somewhat broader structures shovels, no one tries to shovel with an ice-pick. Given that ants have very pointy mandibles and thin wispy legs, how are they able to dig ...
John Joe's user avatar
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2 votes
1 answer
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Reference for the bite force for Nile Crocodile

The (maximal) bite force of the Nile Crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus) is estimated around 22,000 Newton (refer to YouTube interview with Ofer Kobi, a crocodile conservation ranger and croc farm owner, ...
Triceratops's user avatar
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1 vote
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How are the helices of MscL gating "attached"?

I'm attempting to model the mechanosensitive channels of large conductance (MscL) in E. coli for finite element analysis purposes. I have a number of papers where this has been done, and one shows the ...
Asinine's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
701 views

What is the purpose of the viscous gel in the Pacinian corpuscle?

I have read that 'when the stimulus (in this case pressure) is constantly applied, the gel repositions itself to prevent the formation of an action potential'. I don't really understand what this ...
Stephen Gevanni's user avatar
2 votes
0 answers
35 views

How does fungi network transfer substances between plants?

How does fungi network transfer substances between plants? I recently read a short article about fungi network. And I am wondering about how fungi network works (Mechanism). Plants have fungi ...
KYHSGeekCode's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
138 views

Are there biological ratchet cycles that are small in number?

I recently came across the strange factoid that all animals that can jump do so to roughly the same height (within an order of magnitude). The argument was that the work done by muscles in a single ...
Cort Ammon's user avatar
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1 vote
0 answers
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Strongest bone in body

AS internet tells is it is thigh bone which is strongest, but why, it carry only upper part of body, does not heel or any foot bones should be strongest in body as they carry full body weight ?
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1 vote
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Muscle involved in carrying load on head

I have seen people carrying heavy load on their head especially in 3rd world countries, does carrying on head any benefit or harm, which muscle get strengthen in doing it?
murmansk's user avatar
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2 votes
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Are trees still carrying their leaves more likely to be felled by an autumn storm?

Is there evidence that trees still carrying their leaves are more likely to be felled by an autumn storm than trees already having lost their leaves? At first sight this seems plausible (and might be ...
Hans-Peter Stricker's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
47 views

What’s the term used to define a terrestrial being that moves by using six limbs?

I know that Bipedal locomotion would describe how beings like humans and ostriches get around. Quadrupedal locomotion describes how beings like dogs and cats move around. What about insects, ...
Iam Pyre's user avatar
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20 votes
1 answer
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How did the largest/longest dinosaurs hold their head and necks up?

After seeing the images in the articles shown below, I am having a tough time understanding the mechanics of how these incredibly long and heavy necks can be supported outstretched like this. A rigid ...
uhoh's user avatar
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3 votes
3 answers
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Any simulations of four-winged dinosaur flight? (microraptors)

This week's podcast of the BBC's Science in Action includes a section by Rory Galloway (12:20 to 18:30) covering the Dinosaurs ...
uhoh's user avatar
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Curved membrane effect

Curved Membrane effect: Movements of the tympanic membrane are more at the periphery than at the centre where malleus is attached which provides some leverage. This is called as curved membrane ...
JM97's user avatar
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1 vote
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Three foramen lying in one vertical plane

In the human skull we can see that 3 foramina named as supraorbital notch(foramen) , infraorbital foramen and mental foramen share a common vertical plane. Is there any surgical significance of for ...
JM97's user avatar
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How is the Force of Contraction Applied to the Tendons by the Muscle's Individual Fibers?

Image and question have been updated for clarity! The image above is a side view of a semi-transparent skeletal muscle. The dark red lines represent individual fibers, the blue lines represent ...
Jon Yang's user avatar
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How pulmonary vasculature removes embolism?

This book says: Pulmonary vasculature removes emboli before they reach into systemic circulation. I can speculate that if the emboli are made of fat or clot then our body could degrade it but how ...
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