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First Gear Mechanism Discovered In Nature
GameboyRMH writes "A gear mechanism has been discovered [paywalled original paper here, for those with access] for the first time in nature in the nymph of the Issus, a small plant-hopping insect common in Europe. It uses the gears to synchronize the movement and power of its hind legs, forcing the legs to propel it in a straight line when jumping, which would otherwise be impossible for the insect if it had to control the timing and force of its leg muscles independently."
Our contraptions have 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and sometimes higher.
One of the original origin stories for the Transformers was that they evolved from naturally occurring pulleys and gears. IIRC it was used in the comics, until they retconned it.
const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
I don't think you are jumping the sort of distances (relative to your size) that this insect is. The power of the jump compared to its mass is quite impressive, and apparently has special requirements. From the linked article:
" The gear teeth on the opposing hind-legs lock together like those in a car gear-box, ensuring almost complete synchronicity in leg movement - the legs always move within 30 'microseconds' of each other, with one microsecond equal to a millionth of a second.
This is critical for the powerful jumps that are this insect's primary mode of transport, as even minuscule discrepancies in synchronization between the velocities of its legs at the point of propulsion would result in "yaw rotation" - causing the Issus to spin hopelessly out of control."
William George
If you look at the picture of the thing, it's pretty amazing. Each gear strip is 400 micrometers long.
"First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
The Synopsis was a little lacking in detail. Namely, the gear configuration for the legs on this adolescent insect allowed it to jump faster and further than it would normally be able to do safely. Through use of the gear configuration, it allowed the adolescent insect to develop it's nervous system to adapt to acceleration to 400g while it's muscular structure and carapace developed, at which point the years are shed. Basically, these are training wheels, not that they are inherently better. What is interesting is that the gear design is quite different than what we humans have created, and allows for highly effective forward momentum with minimal energy expenditure at the expense of reverse.
Thirty four characters live here.
Extra credit for the article to put 'microseconds' in quotes! And then explain what it means. Whoa, so we can introduce entire generations in science who have not mastered difficult concepts like 'zero' before (http://dilbert.com/strips/comic/1997-02-27/).
You can read the paper's full text here: http://freepdfhosting.com/292b7f1c8f.pdf Some highlights: On page 2, there are some great images of the gears in action. Do check them out! Your friend, pdfbuddy.
Have you never seen a cricket or grasshopper?
Yes. They have stabilizers. This little bug doesn't, thus needs more accurate jumping.
Learn to love Alaska
..and here is a video of the gears in action.
"His name was James Damore."
Wow, congratulations, you proved all etymologists wrong with three seconds of thought.
Etymologists?
Everything is better with chainsaws.
To me, this level of detail in nature is strong evidence for creation rather than evolution.
I suspect that Creationists would say the same thing about any complex biological structure. Interlocking gears are interesting because human beings manufacture similar structures, but there's nothing about them that's more miraculous than, say, a retina.
And if biologists can find fossils with more-primitive gear structures as we go back in time -- fewer teeth, less-effective interlocking, etc. -- that would actually support evolution even more, by demonstrating that it is able to produce interesting machines by gradual (and occasionally stark) mutation.
Of course, I doubt that most Creationists can ever be swayed from their opinions, no matter what scientific evidence is presented, because evidence for evolution in the fossil record is already overwhelming and yet there are still Creationists. That's the power of religion.
Koans and fables for the software engineer
Somebody photoshop a top hat, goggles and pocketwatch for the first steampunk insect! http://i.livescience.com/images/i/000/056/820/i02/planthopper-insect-leg-gears.jpg?1379008166
There exists a Weevil with a screw as a leg joint.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trigonopterus_oblongus
Nature is absolutely awesome.
Let's take your car analogy and run with it. If I found a car on a planet full of self-replicating creatures that shared many features of the car, and even found very simple car components all over the place, as well as a underground record showing many iterations of creatures that eventually led to the car... then yeah, I would assume it evolved there.
W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
Spouting unscientific nonsense in a crowd of nerds is, by definition, trolling.
Which brings us to this
http://theoatmeal.com/comics/mantis_shrimp
I've got better things to do tonight than die.