Page 13 - aruba-today-20201022

science Thursday 22 OcTOber 2020
A13

Can’t crush this: Beetle armor HEALTH

gives clues to tougher planes DOCTOR ON DUTY

Oranjestad
By MARION RENAULT snapping all at once. Hospital 7:00 pm / 10:00pm
Associated Press "When you pull them Tel. 527 4000
NEW YORK (AP) — It's a apart," Zavattieri said, "it San Nicolas
beetle that can withstand doesn't break catastrophi- Imsan 24 hours
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and even being rolled over bit. That's crucial for the Women in Difficulties
by a Toyota Camry. Now beetle." This 2016 photo provided by the University of California, Irvine, PHARMACY ON DUTY
scientists are studying what It could also be useful for shows a diabolical ironclad beetle, which can withstand being Oranjestad:
the bug's crush-resistant engineers who design air- crushed by forces almost 40,000 times its body weight and are Kibrahacha Tel. 583 4908
shell could teach them native to desert habitats in Southern California. San Nicolas:
about designing stronger Sudoku Associated Press Seroe Preto Tel. 584 4833
planes and buildings. crafts and other vehicles Women in Difficulties
"This beetle is super tough," and buildings with a va- OTHER
said Purdue University civil riety of materials such as Dental Clinic 587 9850
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the study by Zavattieri and
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As is often the case for General Info
flightless beetles, the spe- Phone Directory Tel. 118
cies' elytra — a protective
case that normally sheaths
wings — had strengthened
and toughened over time.
Up close , scientists realized
this cover also benefited
from special, jigsaw-like
bindings and a layered ar-
chitecture.
When compressed, they
found the structure frac-
tured slowly instead of