Cheetahs Are Ridiculously Fast

Came across this through StumbleUpon, which is turning out to be an amazing procrastination tool which throws out some really great stuff. This video (National Geographic) of a slow motion cheetah running is just stunning. As well as the sheer beauty of its motion, watch the timer in the corner, this animal is moving ridiculously fast (they can reach top speeds of over 70mph).…

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Stick Insects: Metachronal Gait and Introducing Stumpy

Latest edition in my occasional stick insect updates, and finally I’ve convinced one of them to do something other than a tripod gait on video. In the literature they seem to use first instar specimens because they are less prone to behaving like, well, sticks! In the pursuit of the videos below I did end up with one 10 minute…

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March Stick Insect Update

Another update on the stick insects in my office since they are now getting towards adult size, as you can see from the thumbnail to the left (where there is a 20p coin for reference). There have not been any deaths since transferring to the cage so there are still currently 17 insects of varying sizes due to the delay…

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A Jar Full O’ Stick Insects

Been a while since the update, and they’re getting bigger, and in some sense easier to clean (they’re more visible so easier to see if you are about to throw out a plant with them on) but also more difficult because they get more inquisitive when put in a jar to keep them safe while sorting the cage out. I…

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