Name: The sticky wonder of gecko feet
Uploaded: 2007-11-27T01:45:00Z
Duration: 19 min 11 s
Description: Biologist Robert Full shares slo-mo video of some captivating critters. Take a closer look at the spiny legs that allow cockroaches to scuttle across mesh and the nanobristle-packed feet that let geckos to run straight up walls.

Biologist Robert Full shares slo-mo video of some captivating critters. Take a closer look at the spiny legs that allow cockroaches to scuttle across mesh and the nanobristle-packed feet that let geckos to run straight up walls.

The sticky wonder of gecko feet

Animal feet hold surprising secrets that allow creatures to navigate almost any terrain, from cockroaches running at the human equivalent of 300 miles per hour on debris to geckos sprinting up walls using billions of microscopic hairs. Engineers are now borrowing these principles to design robots that can climb, swim, and maneuver over obstacles more effectively. By studying the diversity of animal feet, researchers have created artificial adhesives and climbing robots that outperform conventional engineering. Preserving nature's blueprints unlocks innovations that could help rescue people or revolutionize medicine.