Why is pancake syrup an example of a resistive force? Some forces are called contact forces because they require objects to touch. One is tension force, found in stretched wires. Another is the force ...

Cytokinesis, the fission of a mother cell into two daughter cells, is a simple and dramatic cell shape change. Here, we examine the dynamics of cytokinesis by using a combination of microscopy, ...

For those of you who take sandcastle building very seriously, listen up: engineers now say you can trust a very simple equation to calculate the force required to push a shovel -- and any other ...

The interaction of intruding objects with deformable materials arises in many contexts, including locomotion in fluids and loose media, impact and penetration problems, and geospace applications.

Granular materials, such as sand and gravel, are an interesting class of materials. They can display solid, liquid, and gas-like properties, depending on the scenario. But things can get complicated ...

When it comes to swimming, fish demonstrate an effortless grace and power that humans can only dream of. While the fastest fish swim at up to 70 miles per hour, no human has ever managed even 4 mph in ...

Weightlifting in weightlessness is now my favorite oxymoron. (It has surpassed my previous favorite: reality TV.) Living in weightlessness causes our bodies to slowly degenerate, and for long-duration ...