Monday, June 14, 2010

Awesome Ant Photo taken by Dr Thomas Endlein. I can carry 100 times my own weight hanging upside down

Photo taken by Dr Thomas Endlein who won first prize in the first annual Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) science photo competition.


Amazing photo of an asian weaver ants carrying 100 times it's own weight hanging upside down and clinging to a smooth surface.

Photo taken by Dr Thomas Endlein who won first prize in the first annual Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) science photo competition.

The amazing thing about asian weaver ants is that it could run freely when not carrying burden on the same type of surface and not stuck with it's sticky feet.

How the ants could change the level of it's feet stickiness?

According to Dr Endelin “Ants can change the size and shape of the pads on their feet depending on the load they are carrying. If they have to carry heavy loads they increase the contact area, and when they need to run they decrease it.”

The ants leg plays a role in the insects' stickiness.

"If you think about peeling off sticky tape from a surface, it's easiest when you peel at a steep, rather than a shallow, angle. Ants use the same mechanism: when they want to stick, they keep their legs at a shallow angle relative to the surface, and when they want to release their legs they increase this angle and peel off easily," said Dr Endlein.

"The pads on ants' feet are self-cleaning and can stick to almost any type of surface. No man-made glue or adhesive system can match this.”

Dr Endlein stated that by knowing how animal could control their adhesive systems could help scientists to come up with smarter adhesives in the future.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Castrol FIFA World Cup Winner Prediction

World cup is coming and everyone is supporting his country or his team. Well before you support your team, why not refer to the following prediction by Castrol. It will safe you from heart break, pick the country that most probably will win.

Castrol has come up with sophisticated system to predict 2010 Fifa World Cup Winner.

By using past team and player performance, plus relevant dynamics such as attack and defense ratings of each nation they could predict how well each country will perform in the coming world.

And ultimately who will win the cup.

Top Ten Potential Winner.

No Country % of Winning FIFA World Cup

1. Brazil -: 23.4%

2. Spain -: 17.0%

3. England -: 10.3%

4. Netherland -: 9.8%

5. Argentina -: 7.5%

6. Germany -: 5.7%

7. Italy -: 3.7%

8. France -: 3.1%

9. Uruguay -: 2.7%

10. USA -: 2.0%



Top Ten Potential Loser !

23. Cameroon -: 0.4%

24. Honduras -: 0.3%

25. Ghana -: 0.3%

26. South Korea -: 0.2%

27. South Africa-: 0.2%

28. Slovakia -: 0.1%

29. Slovenia -: 0.1%

30. Algeria -: 0.0%

31. North Korea -: 0.0%

32. New Zealand -: 0.0%

They're not only good in liquid engineering, they are also good in football prediction. For latest prediction, please visit Castrol website.

Castrol FIFA World Cup Winner Prediction