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It was no small task, but researchers have solved a long-term mystery—how fleas jump. Now high-speed video (watch above) confirms the insects take off using their toes, scientists announced Thursday. Such flea dissections—combined with the limited high-speed video technology available in the past—revealed that the insects powered their leap with energy stored in one spring inside their bodies. For the new study, Gregory Sutton and Malcolm Burrows , both of the U.K.'s University of Cambridge, modeled how a flea would have to move to jump from its toes versus its knees. "I'm a mechanical engineer by training, and, when looked at as a machine, the insect jump is an almost unbelievably fast, precise, and reliable motion," Sutton said.
How Do Fleas Jump? New Video Solves Mystery
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Organic Chemistry for the YouTube Generation
Organic chemistry videos being filmed. Credit: Haim Weizman, UCSD No matter how long they pore over their lab manuals, students feel anxious when they step into a science laboratory. Now a series of dynamic videos created by undergraduate students at the University of California, San Diego is helping them relax and focus on what really matters—the science behind the experiment.