Biologist Robert Full Talks Feet

Biologist Robert Full is, in some respects, a podiatrist to cockroaches and geckos. His research aims to understand how evolution, over the course of millions of years, has engineered feet of all shapes, sizes, and functions. To that end, Dr. Full uses slow motion video to record cockroaches sprinting across a wire mesh—such footage helps him decipher how cockroaches prevent their legs from slipping through the holes in the mesh. He films geckos scaling smooth walls with ease. And he ponders the finer points of what a foot really is. Dr. Full's research has many intriguing applications, from helping to design robots such as Spinybot (which tiptoes its way up silky smooth glass) to helping Pixar animators to create more believable insect animations for the film A Bug's Life.

You can watch his lecture on the secrets of animal movement at the TED website. Also, if you're interested in finding out more about geckos and their wall climbing abilities, there's a terrific article and video at NewScientist about how geckos use their tails to prevent or control their falls (if you're really ambitious, you an read the original research paper here).

Photo © Globalp / iStockphoto.