• HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
Tuesday, August 5, 2025
BIOENGINEER.ORG
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
No Result
View All Result
Bioengineer.org
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS Science News Chemistry

Honeybees’ hairy abdomens show how to save energy, reduce wear on materials

Bioengineer by Bioengineer
June 9, 2021
in Chemistry
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on RedditShare on Telegram

IMAGE

Credit: Adapted from ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 2021, DOI: 10.1021/acsami.1c05500

Watching honeybees buzz among flowers, it’s easy to see how the expression “busy as a bee” arose. One of many movements a bee’s body makes is the repetitive curving and straightening of its abdomen. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces have found that tiny hairs reduce friction from these motions, saving energy for the industrious insects’ daily activities while reducing wear and tear. This knowledge could help researchers design longer-lasting moving parts.

A bee’s abdomen is divided into several tough outer plates that make up its exoskeleton. When the abdomen flexes and extends, these segments slide over each other, creating friction. However, the overlapping portions of the segments show very little wear and tear, a finding that has puzzled scientists. Jieliang Zhao, Shaoze Yan and colleagues wanted to investigate the anti-friction mechanism of the honeybee abdomen, which could someday be used to extend the lifetime of engineered soft devices, such as actuators and hinges.

The researchers observed honeybee abdomens under a scanning electron microscope, finding numerous branched hairs on the outer surface. Then, using atomic force microscopy, they measured the friction caused by moving an exoskeletal segment across either a hairy or hairless surface. Under the same load, the friction for the hairy surface was lower than that for a smooth surface. As the load increased, friction for the hairless surface rose, whereas no obvious rise in friction was observed for the hairy surface. The researchers calculated that the hairy surface reduced abrasion during abdominal contraction by about 60% and also saved energy with each contraction. This adds up to a large amount of conserved energy that is essential for conducting bees’ daily activities, the researchers say.

###

The authors acknowledge funding from the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Beijing Municipal Science & Technology Commission and the Beijing Institute of Technology Research Fund Program for Young Scholars.

The abstract that accompanies this paper can be viewed here.

The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. ACS’ mission is to advance the broader chemistry enterprise and its practitioners for the benefit of Earth and all its people. The Society is a global leader in promoting excellence in science education and providing access to chemistry-related information and research through its multiple research solutions, peer-reviewed journals, scientific conferences, eBooks and weekly news periodical Chemical & Engineering News. ACS journals are among the most cited, most trusted and most read within the scientific literature; however, ACS itself does not conduct chemical research. As a leader in scientific information solutions, its CAS division partners with global innovators to accelerate breakthroughs by curating, connecting and analyzing the world’s scientific knowledge. ACS’ main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.

To automatically receive news releases from the American Chemical Society, contact [email protected].
 
Follow us: Twitter | Facebook

Media Contact
Katie Cottingham
[email protected]

Related Journal Article

http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acsami.1c05500

Tags: Chemistry/Physics/Materials SciencesEntomologyMechanical EngineeringNanotechnology/MicromachinesTechnology/Engineering/Computer Science
Share12Tweet8Share2ShareShareShare2

Related Posts

Entangled Heavy Fermions: Pioneering the Next Frontier in Quantum Computing

Entangled Heavy Fermions: Pioneering the Next Frontier in Quantum Computing

August 5, 2025
blank

Hundreds of Satellite Systems Discovered Orbiting Dwarf Galaxies in New Survey

August 5, 2025

Harnessing Nature: Exploring Bush Basil Companion Plants for Organic Pest Control

August 5, 2025

Diastereodivergent Routes to Multi-Substituted Cycloalkanes

August 5, 2025
Please login to join discussion

POPULAR NEWS

  • blank

    Neuropsychiatric Risks Linked to COVID-19 Revealed

    72 shares
    Share 29 Tweet 18
  • Overlooked Dangers: Debunking Common Myths About Skin Cancer Risk in the U.S.

    61 shares
    Share 24 Tweet 15
  • Predicting Colorectal Cancer Using Lifestyle Factors

    46 shares
    Share 18 Tweet 12
  • Dr. Miriam Merad Honored with French Knighthood for Groundbreaking Contributions to Science and Medicine

    47 shares
    Share 19 Tweet 12

About

We bring you the latest biotechnology news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Follow us

Recent News

Lipidomics, AI Unveil Acute Heart Disease Stages

Unraveling Antifungal Resistance in Candida tropicalis

Loneliness and Smoking Linked in Youth: Longitudinal Study

  • Contact Us

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
    • Home Page 2
  • News
  • National
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.