The neck is a critical portion of the avian spine, one that works in tandem with the beak to act
as a surrogate forelimb and allows birds to manipulate their surroundings despite the lack of …

From its first appearance in early vertebrates, the spine evolved the function of protecting the
spinal cord, avoiding excessive straining during body motion. Its stiffness and strength …

With the increasing of the accuracy requirement of data record for on-orbit instruments, it
becomes a greater challenge and brings more opportunities in design of observing …

The evolution of semi-independent modules is hypothesized to underlie the functional
diversification of serially repeating (metameric) structures. The mammal vertebral column is …

This paper discusses stiffness and antagonistic actuation in light-weight cable-driven bio-
inspired manipulators suitable for safe interactions. Manipulators under study are built upon …

The last common ancestor of birds and crocodylians plus all of its descendants (clade
Archosauria) dominated terrestrial Mesozoic ecosystems, giving rise to disparate body …

Paleobiologists typically exclude impossible joint poses from reconstructions of extinct
animals by estimating the rotational range of motion (ROM) of fossil joints. However, this …

Bird necks display unparalleled levels of morphological diversity compared to other
vertebrates, yet it is unclear what factors have structured this variation. Using three …

Studies of joint structure and function have played a central role in understanding
palaeobiology and major functional transitions in evolutionary history, where fossilized hard …

Three-dimensional studies of range of motion currently plot joint poses in a 'Euler
space'whose axes are angles measured in the joint's three rotational degrees of freedom …