Mechanistic insights into mosquito antennal architecture for auditory adaptations.

Unlike organisms equipped with tympanal ears, mosquitoes hear using their antennae, which are lightweight sensory structures capable of detecting sound. Here, we study the antennae of two species - Aedes aegypti and Uranotaenia lowii - known to use hearing for different functions. Through the use of geometrically comprehensive computational models, we find that architectural features in the mosquito antenna provide mechanisms that promote the detection of species and sex specific acoustic targets amidst the non-target signals produced by their own wingbeats.

Influence of alignment and microstructure features on the mechanical properties and failure mechanisms of cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) films.

The mechanical properties of cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) films critically depend on many microstructural parameters such as fiber length distribution (FLD), fiber orientation distribution (FOD), and the strength of the interactions between the fibers. In this paper, we use our coarse-grained molecular model of CNC to study the effect of length and orientation distribution and attractions between CNCs on the mechanical properties of neat CNCs. The effect of misalignment of a 2D staggered structure of CNC with respect to the loading direction was studied with simulations and analytical solutions and then verified with experiments.

Toughening mechanisms of the elytra of the diabolical ironclad beetle.

Joining dissimilar materials such as plastics and metals in engineered structures remains a challenge. Mechanical fastening, conventional welding and adhesive bonding are examples of techniques currently used for this purpose, but each of these methods presents its own set of problems such as formation of stress concentrators or degradation under environmental exposure, reducing strength and causing premature failure. In the biological tissues of numerous animal and plant species, efficient strategies have evolved to synthesize, construct and integrate composites that have exceptional mechanical properties.