The unusual feature that helps salamanders glide over the world's tallest trees
Slippery salamanders glide mysteriously through the canopies of the world's tallest trees. Now, scientists say they understand how the small skydivers are able to maneuver seamlessly across California's coastal redwoods.
The answer might be surprising. Wandering salamanders can fill, trap, and drain the blood in their toe tips to help them easily attach and detach to the bark of the trees.
Christian Brown, the lead author of new and related research and an integrative physiology and neuroscience postdoctoral researcher at Washington State University, first noticed it during filming for the NBC documentary The Americas. Bright red blood rushed to the creatures' translucent, square-shaped toe tips before they took a step forward.
'We looked at each other like, 'Did you see that?'' Brown said in a statement.
The university-led findings were published Wednesday in the Journal of Morphology.
Using camera equipment from the production, high-resolution video helped the researchers to analyze the mechanism.
Regulating blood flow, the authors said, allows the long-legged wandering salamanders to adjust pressure asymmetrically. Blood rushing in before the 'toe off' helps them to detach.
And, by inflating the toe tip, the salamanders reduce the surface area in contact with the one they are on. That minimizes the energy they need to let go and parachute between branches.
Flying squirrels, gliding frogs, geckos, ants and other insects are known to use similar aerial maneuvers, according to researchers at U.C. Berkeley.
'What struck me when I first saw the videos is that they (the salamanders) are so smooth — there's no discontinuity or noise in their motions, they're just totally surfing in the air,' Robert Dudley, a professor of integrative biology at the university, said in 2022.
Brown and Dudley worked together on a previous paper that described their movement and how they can control falls from hundreds of feet in the air.
Previously, the feature was believed to aid the wandering salamander's oxygenation, but the researchers said there was no evidence to support that theory.
Similar structures are found in other salamander species that might serve other purposes. More research is needed to understand how it works to serve those species in their habitats.
'This could redefine our understanding of how salamanders move across diverse habitats,' Brown said.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
2 days ago
- The Sun
New coronavirus only ‘one small step from spilling over into humans' and sparking widespread outbreak, say scientists
A NEW coronavirus may only be "a small step away from spilling over into humans", scientists have warned - sparking fears of another pandemic. Scientists believe the variant, called HKU5-CoV-2, may infect a broader range of animals than Covid-19 and may have more potential for jumping between species. 1 American scientists fear the virus - found in China - may be one small mutation away from also being able to infect humans, which could lead to a widespread outbreak. The new study, published in Nature Communications, looked at a lesser-known group of coronaviruses called merbecoviruses. It includes HKU5 and MERS-CoV, which is responsible for the deadly Middle East Respiratory Syndrome. First noted in 2012, the virus typically spreads from infected camels to humans causes severe respiratory disease, which can be fatal to 34 per cent of its victims. The research team, which included scientists at Washington State University (WSU), the California Institute of Technology and the University of North Carolina, sought to understand how merbecoviruses infiltrate the cells of their hosts. While most bugs in the group seemed to pose little threat to people, scientists said one subgroup, HKU5, has concerning traits. Michael Letko, a virologist at WSU's College of Veterinary Medicine, said: "Merbecoviruses – and HKU5 viruses in particular – really hadn't been looked at much, but our study shows how these viruses infect cells. "What we also found is HKU5 viruses may be only a small step away from being able to spill over into humans." Like other coronaviruses, merbecoviruses rely on a spike protein to bind to receptors and invade host cells. Dr Letko's team used virus-like particles containing the part of the spike protein responsible for binding to receptors and tested their ability to infect cells in their lab. While most merbecoviruses appeared unlikely to be able to infect humans, HKU5 viruses — which have been found across Asia, Europe, Africa and the Middle East — were shown to use a host receptor known as ACE2, the same used by the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes Covid-19. But for now HKU5 viruses can only use the ACE2 gene in bats and can't deploy it on humans nearly as well. Examining HKU5 viruses found in Asia - where their host is the Japanese house bat - the researchers demonstrated some mutations in the spike protein that may allow the viruses to bind to ACE2 receptors in other species, including humans. 'These viruses are so closely related to MERS, so we have to be concerned if they ever infect humans,' Dr Letko said. 'While there's no evidence they've crossed into people yet, the potential is there — and that makes them worth watching.' Dr Letko said the study and its methods could be used for future research projects and to help the development of new vaccines and treatments. What is the new Covid variant confirmed in the UK? The new strain - called NB.1.8.1 - has been spotted in the parts of the UK, such as Ireland and Wales. It's also cropped up in Europe, the US and Australia, as well as Egypt, the Maldives, Thailand, China and Hong Kong. The World Health Organisation (WHO) recently issued a warning over NB.1.8.1, designating it as a "variant under monitoring" due to its global spread and key mutations. 'Despite a concurrent increase in cases and hospitalisations in some countries where NB.1.8.1 is widespread, current data do not indicate that this variant leads to more severe illness than other variants in circulation,' the WHO said. But while it may not be particularly severe, it may infect people more easily than previous variants, with some evidence suggesting that the variant binds more tightly to human cells. A recent study that has not yet been peer reviewed suggests that a person infected with NB.1.8.1 may be more likely to pass the virus on to someone else, compared to earlier variants. The WHO stressed that, based on available evidence, the variant's risk to public health was "low at the global level". "Currently approved Covid-19 vaccines are expected to remain effective to this variant against symptomatic and severe disease," it added. Symptoms include sore throat, fatigue, fever, mild cough, muscle aches and a blocked nose. Some people may also get gastrointestinal symptoms. It's not the first time concerns have been raised over HKU5. Earlier this year, Chinese scientists warned that HKU5-CoV-2 may be able to jump straight from bats to humans without another animal in between. This suggests a higher potential for zoonotic spillover - when a disease spreads from animal to human. If there is no 'intermediate 'middle animal', it becomes harder to predict and prevent spillover events through interactions such as wildlife trading or hunting. "There is the potential for this new virus to spillover to human, like previous coronaviruses including SARS-CoV-2," said Dr Gary R McLean, a research fellow at the Imperial College London, who was not involved in the study. But he noted that, so far, there is no "evidence" that HKU5-CoV-2 can infect people – the paper is based on tests in a laboratory, showing the bug's "potential". "Hopefully the Chinese authorities now have good surveillance systems in place and the laboratories work to rigid safety standards that minimise the risk of spillover occurring," he said. The WHO has previously listed MERS and Covid as two of several diseases - alongside the mysterious disease X - that could spark a pandemic, but for which there is no specific treatment or vaccine.
The Herald Scotland
5 days ago
- The Herald Scotland
Lord Sainsbury: Give Glasgow greater devolved powers
"A major challenge which government faces if it wants to increase Scotland's rate of growth is a way to find and support such clusters," he said. "All the evidence from other countries suggests that the only way to effectively support clusters is to do so at a city region level. Read more: "I appreciate in Scotland, unlike in England, metro mayors have not yet been introduced, but if you want to support high-tech clusters, this is something I think you should seriously consider, with Greater Glasgow being given powers similar to those devolved to Greater Manchester and the West Midlands." Lord Sainsbury was speaking at the Creating the Jobs of Tomorrow conference organised by Glasgow Chamber of Commerce, where he was introduced to the stage by former Labour chancellor and prime minister Gordon Brown. Mr Brown said growth and productivity have been perennial problems in the UK and Scotland, with innovation the key to boosting performance. A new study by economist Dan Turner, head of research at the Centre for Progressive Policy, has suggested this could unlock the creation of hundreds of thousands of high-value jobs. "There are huge sources of innovation and inventiveness in Scotland, just as has been traditional in our history," he said. "The question is can we turn that into scalable companies that stay in Scotland, invest in Scotland, create jobs in Scotland, and Dan's study suggests we could create 300,000 jobs in the next 10 years. "That's 300,000 well-paying jobs, 120,000 in the new industries, the spin-offs in terms of the service sector another 180,000 - that is a possibility if we invest in the infrastructure, the skills, and the development necessary to achieve that." Lord David Sainsbury (Image: Nate Cleary) Lord Sainsbury is a Labour peer and served as minister for science and innovation under Mr Brown and his prime ministerial predecessor, Tony Blair, between 1998 and 2006. He was appointed a life peer in 1997. Lord Sainsbury said there are new opportunities for employment and growth in sectors such as quantum computing, artificial intelligence and biotechnology. "There are economists that will argue that it is investment that is the engine of economic growth, but we have to realise today that capital flows easily around the world, and it flows as it has always done, to where the best investment opportunities are created by innovation," Lord Sainsbury said. "You can sit in London today and you can invest in Silicon Valley, you can invest in practically any country - until recently you could even invest in Chinese venture capital - because that is what modern communication enables you to do. That is why investment is not the real driver of the economy, it's innovation." Among the other speakers was Michael Spence, who won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2001 for his work in the analysis of markets with information imbalances. Read more: "There are two things that [people] associate with Adam Smith correctly," Mr Spence said. "One the 'invisible hand', which is the market system is a reasonably efficient tool for decentralising and allocating resources. "That actually is not the most important thing that Adam Smith said, but it's the one that neo-conservatives remember because they elevate market systems to the status of a religion, rather than a way of accomplishing economic and social goals. The most important one for our purposes is specialisation. "Adam Smith meant specialisation within an economy, when of course everything that David Sainsbury talked about in the global economy is just the Adam Smith insight writ large, and of course it is the ultimate source of growth. "Without specialisation you don't get scale of spread your activity over too much territory, and you don't get innovation. You get nothing if everybody has to do everything. "The fundamental message I want to deliver today is that's still true, and that growth is fundamentally about specialisation and structural change."
The Independent
5 days ago
- The Independent
New coronavirus discovered in China ‘only small step' from infecting humans
A new coronavirus discovered in China is only a small step from mutating and causing another global pandemic, experts have warned. Scientists believe the variant, called HKU5-CoV-2, may infect a broader range of animals than Covid-19 – which caused millions of deaths – and may have more potential for jumping between species. US researchers fear that HKU5-CoV-2, found in China, in February, could also infect humans, leading to a widespread outbreak. The new study, published in Nature Communications, looked at a lesser-known group of coronaviruses called merbecoviruses, which includes HKU5 and MERS-CoV, which is responsible for the deadly Middle East Respiratory Syndrome. The team from Washington State University looked at how the new pathogen interacts with human cells. They found that a small change in the virus's spike protein could allow it to attach to human ACE2 cells in people's throats, mouths and noses. HKU5-CoV-2 can infect and replicate inside human cells in both the airways and gut. According to the World Health Organisation, about 35 per cent of people infected with Middle East Respiratory Syndrome die. Since 2012, some 27 countries have reported cases, leading to 858 known deaths due to the infection, which spread from camels. But when HKU5 was discovered in February, scientists warned against exaggerating the risks because it does not enter human cells as readily as Sars-CoV-2, which caused Covid-19. HKU5 was first detected in bats by scientists from the Chinese laboratory where some say Covid originated in 2019. Prof Michael Letko, a virologist who co-led the study, said: 'HKU5 viruses in particular really hadn't been looked at much, but our study shows how these viruses infect cells. 'What we also found is HKU5 viruses may be only a small step away from being able to spill over into humans.' When Covid-19 emerged it was widely blamed on markets in China where different breeds of wild animal are kept caged and often slaughtered close to other animals. Meat is sold at the open-air stalls. Critics said the markets were the perfect breeding ground for new zoonotic diseases – those that spread to humans – to emerge. The scientists, whose experiments studied how the new pathogen interacts with human cells, believe the virus would have to carry certain mutations if it were to infect humans. 'These viruses are closely related to MERS, so we have to be concerned if they ever infect humans,' Prof Letko said. 'While there's no evidence they've crossed into people yet, the potential is there and that makes them worth watching.'
