The Gecko running across the water
While on holiday in Singapore scientist noticed a Gecko who “galloped” through the water. Had to gather colleagues to explore how animals do it.
Upstairs
Geckos, of course, not the only animals that can move through the water, not plunging inside. So do many small insects or large lizards-basilisks. But the first light enough to stick on the surface film, and the second is heavy enough to blow the clutches to start from the water column. Geckos also amazing because their weight is approximately midway between a front and a Basilisk, and thus they need some kind of a way not to sink.
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It turned out that geckos use multiple mechanisms. The first slide on the surface of the film, as the insects. At least geckos and heavier to some extent, the water holds them. To prove it, they started to run the soapy water where they could not resist (soap just destroys this film). The second mechanism is hydrophobic, that is, voditelskaya skin. And the third tiny air bubbles that could be seen only at very strong slowdown of the video. When the Gecko gets a paw in the water, between the surface of the legs and the water layer of air, which keeps it at the top.
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The results of the study, born from a good home, published in Current biology. And the authors hope that their ideas will help in creating robots that move on the water such as in flooded areas during the flood.