Across the tree of life–from fungi to frogs–organisms wield small amounts of energy to
generate fast and potent movements. These movements are propelled with elastic …

Background In nature, shooting mechanisms are used for a variety of purposes, including
prey capture, defense, and reproduction. This review offers insight into the working …

Ultrafast movements propelled by springs and released by latches are thought limited to
energetic adjustments prior to movement, and seemingly cannot adjust once movement …

Chameleons so easily capture the imagination, and have done so for centuries. In scientific
writings, they first appear with Aristotle (350 BC), and although they were recognized as …

Locomotor biomechanics faces a core trade-off between laboratory-based and field-based
studies. Laboratory conditions offer control over confounding factors, repeatability, and …

Stretching elastic tissues and using their recoil to power movement allows organisms to
release energy more rapidly than by muscle contraction directly, thus amplifying power …

The evolution of ballistic tongue projection in plethodontid salamanders—a high-
performance and thermally robust musculoskeletal system—is ideal for examining how the …

Growth affects the performance of structure, so the pattern of growth must influence the role
of a structure and an organism. Because animal performance is linked to morphological …

Changes in temperature alter muscle kinetics and in turn affect whole-organism
performance. Some organisms use the elastic recoil of biological springs, structures which …

Temperature influences many physiological processes that govern life as a result of the
thermal sensitivity of chemical reactions. The repeated evolution of endothermy and …