The far end of the tail of a human sperm has been studied scientifically a bit less than the other parts of the sperm’s structure. A new study suggests that this little chunk is a fairly important part of the sperm’s swimming mechanism. “Doing more with less: The flagellar end piece enhances the propulsive effectiveness […]
Tag: tail
New, tail-swinging research from the urination-duration lab
Ig Nobel Prize winner David Hu and colleagues published a new study investigating why elephants and other tail-swinging mammals swing their tails. Specifically, they looked at how (and how well) tail-swinging repels insects. The new study is: “Mammals Repel Mosquitoes With Their Tails,” Marguerite E. Matherne, Kasey Cockerill, Yiyang Zhou, Mihir Bellamkonda, David L. Hu, Journal […]
The aerodynamics of cheetahs’ tails (recent study)
“During high-speed pursuit of prey, the cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) has been observed to swing its tail while manoeuvring (e.g. turning or braking) but the effect of these complex motions is not well understood.” Prompting, perhaps, the question ‘what is a cheetah’s tail actually for?’ A joint US / South African study (2016) has made made […]
Attracting Wildlife – for research (or shooting) [new patent]
Inventor Harrison Forrester, from Greenwood, SC, USA, has just received a patent for a wildlife attractor device which may help scientific researchers (or hunters), “The present invention is related to a hunting device that is particularly suitable for attracting wildlife and animals, such as deer, antelope, and varmints to a particular location.” The device, which […]
Dogs with a wider angle of wag are at risk
This study focuses public attention on the (hitherto largely ignored) concept of wider angle of wag: “Risk factors for tail injuries in dogs in Great Britain,” G. Diesel, D. Pfeiffer, S. Crispin and D. Brodbelt, Veterinary Record, vol. 166, no. 26, June 26, 2010, pp. 812-7. The authors report: “Data were obtained from a stratified random […]
Dogs Tail Wagging (Robotic and Otherwise): an Update
Back in 2010, Improbable reported ongoing investigations regarding tail-wagging in robotic dogs. We can now provide readers with an update, thanks to researcher Stephen Leaver, who has posted a video of Robodog in action via his research lab webpage. The accompanying paper : ‘Behavioural responses of Canis familiaris to different tail lengths of a remotely-controlled […]
Caudal Communication in the Canids
A research team from the Department of Biology at the University of Victoria, Canada, have, for the first time, investigated the behavioural responses of domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) to the asymmetric tail-wag of a life-sized robotic-dog model – one which was configured to wag its tail, either to the right or to the left, at […]