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"Discovery Files" Features from the National Science Foundation
"Unique Beak"
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(75 seconds)
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READER SCRIPT
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NOT JUST ANOTHER PRETTY BEAK. THE "DISCOVERY FILES": NEW ADVANCES IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING, FROM THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION. THE TOCO TOUCAN'S BEAK IS ONE OF NATURE'S MOST-COLORFUL CREATIONS. BUT, IT'S LIGHTWEIGHT STRENGTH MAY BE ITS BEST FEATURE. AND, RESEARCHERS AT U-C SAN DIEGO BELIEVE IT COULD INSPIRE A NEW GENERATION OF MAN-MADE MATERIALS FOR A NUMBER OF USES--FROM ULTRA-LIGHT AVIATION, TO AUTOMOTIVE APPLICATIONS. THE ANSWER WE SEEK IS, WHAT MAKES THIS BEAK SO UNIQUE? THE RESEARCH SHOWS THAT AT ITS CORE IS A NETWORK OF FIBROUS TISSUE SUSPENDED IN A SOLID, FOAM-LIKE MATERIAL--VERY STRONG; VERY LIGHT. THE BEAK IS COVERED WITH A MEMBRANE COMPOSED OF TINY TILES OF KERATIN--KIND OF LIKE THE SHINGLES ON A HOUSE. WHEN SCIENCE IS INSPIRED BY NATURE'S DESIGNS, WE DISCOVER NEW PATHS TO INNOVATION. VELCRO, FOR EXAMPLE, WAS DEVELOPED AFTER SOMEONE GOT THE IDEA FROM THOSE BURRS THAT STICK TO YOUR SOCKS WHEN YOU WALK THROUGH A FIELD. WHEN IT COMES TO THIS NEW RESEARCH, THE TOCO TOUCAN IS LEADING BY A BEAK. THE "DISCOVERY FILES" COVERS PROJECTS FUNDED BY THE GOVERNMENT'S NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION: FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH BROUGHT TO YOU BY YOU! LEARN MORE AT "N-S-F"-DOT-GOV--OR ON THEIR PODCAST.
For additional "Discovery Files" features from the National Science Foundation, click here.
