The way an elephant manipulates its trunk to eat and drink could lead to better robots, researchers say.
Elephants dilate their nostrils to create more space in their trunks, allowing them to store up to 5.5 liters (1.45 gallons) of water, according to their new study.
They can also suck up three liters (0.79 gallons) per second a speed 30 times faster than a human sneeze (150 meters per second/330 mph), the researchers found.
The researchers wanted to better understand the physics of how elephants use their trunks to move and manipulate air, water, food, and other objects. They also wanted to learn if the mechanics could inspire the creation of more efficient robots that use air motion to hold and move things.
New research from Georgia Tech finds that elephants dilate their nostrils in order to create more space in their trunks, allowing them to store up to nine liters of water. They can also suck up three liters per second a speed 50 times faster than a human sneeze. The findings could inspire different ways to building robots that manipulate air to move or hold things.
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Mar 3, 2021
Caution is needed before withdrawing care, researchers warn
Most patients with a persistent disorder of consciousness (DOC) after moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) eventually recovered consciousness, prospective data showed.
By the end of rehabilitation, 82% of patients who had persistent DOC when they were discharged from acute care were able to follow commands, reported Robert Kowalski, MBBCh, MS, of the University of Colorado in Aurora, and co-authors. Median acute hospitalization was 25 days and median rehabilitation stay was 33 days.
“Caution is warranted in consideration of withdrawing or withholding care in patients with TBI and DOC,” they wrote in
Neurology. “This study found that DOC occurred initially in most patients with TBI and persisted in some patients after rehabilitation, but most patients with persisting DOC recovered consciousness during rehabilitation.”