We all know that toad frog have one of nature ’s coolest method of catching their prey — blast their lingua out and latching onto the victim . But we have n’t fully understood how the process works . New research shows that frog spittle transforms in surprising ways and could be applied to make crack adhesive material .
In the delightfully title paper , “ Frogs use a viscoelastic tongue and non - Newtonian spit to watch fair game , ” researchers from Georgia Tech have outlined the measure - by - step outgrowth of what happens when a frog fires its tongue .
for comport their study , lead researcher Alexis C. Noel and her workfellow filmed dozens of frogs in tiresome motion and pucker scrape samples of spittle from 17 unlike specimens .
According to Noel , the first crucial thing about the lash process of puzzle out a cricket out of the air is the frog ’s tongue is “ one of the softest bio tissues recognise . ” She compares its softness to “ brain tissue paper , ” its snap to a “ bungee cord , ” and its behaviour on impingement with its prey to “ shock absorbers on a railroad car . ” These properties combine to apace enclose around an insect and get that magical spittle do its work .
Noel explained the three phases of the special “ reversible ” spittle toScience Daily :
“ When the tongue first hits the insect , the saliva is almost like water and fill up all the bug ’s cleft . Then , when the tongue snaps back , the spittle changes and becomes more viscous — thicker than honey , really — gripping the worm for the ride back . The spit turns watery again when the louse is shear off inside the mouth . ”
This means that toad spit can be classified as anon - Newtonian fluid . Like ketchup or paint , a constant coefficient of its viscosity can not be defined .
Noel say theWashington Postthat “ late discipline of chameleon clue at the same type of mechanism . ” As far as apply this enquiry in a hardheaded manner , Noel told Science Daily , “ Perhaps this technology could be used for raw Band - Aids . Or it could be used to create new materials in gentle manufacture . ” But that ’s just her cautious ideas . On a more ambitious level she dreams of frog - inspired quadcopters snatching up cargo from the sky .
[ Science Daily , Washington Post ]
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