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"Discovery Files" Features from the National Science Foundation
"Sprint Condition"
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READER SCRIPT
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WINNING BY A TOE... THE "DISCOVERY FILES": NEW ADVANCES IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING, FROM THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION. GETTING A LEG UP IN THE SPRINTING-WORLD MAY HAVE A LOT TO DO WITH A CERTAIN KIND OF PHYSIOLOGY OF THE FOOT: SPECIFICALLY, A RUNNER HAVING LONGER TOES, AND A UNIQUE ANKLE-STRUCTURE, MAY HAVE AN EDGE. NEW RESEARCH OUT OF PENN STATE COMPARED THE FEET OF SPRINTERS WITH THOSE OF NON-SPRINTERS--AND FOUND SOME SIGNIFICANT STRUCTURAL-DIFFERENCES: THEY MEASURED THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THE HEEL AND THE END OF THE TOES--AND USED ULTRASOUND-IMAGES, TO REVEAL THE LEVERAGE OF THE "ACHILLES TENDON" WITHIN THE FOOT. THE LONG AND THE SHORT OF IT IS THAT THE RUNNERS HAD BOTH LONGER TOES, AND A SHORTER "LEVER ARM"--OR DISTANCE BETWEEN THE TENDON AND THE CENTER ROTATION OF THE ANKLE. THOSE LONG TOES LET SPRINTERS MAINTAIN CONTACT WITH THE GROUND JUST A LITTLE BIT LONGER THAN OTHER RUNNERS--GIVING THEM AN EXTRA BOOST OF ACCELERATION. TO TAKE THE RESEARCH INTO THE NEXT "HEAT", THE TEAM USED THE STATS THAT THEY COLLECTED TO DESIGN A COMPUTER-MODEL OF THE FOOT IN VARIOUS CONFIGURATIONS: THE GREATEST ACCELERATION WAS ACHIEVED WITH THE LONGEST TOES, AND SHORTEST "LEVER ARM". BUILT FOR SPEED? THE JURY IS STILL OUT AS TO WHETHER A RUNNER CAN DEVELOP A MORE-FAVORABLE FOOT-STRUCTURE THROUGH TRAINING--OR WHETHER, INSTEAD, IT'S PURELY GENETICS. ON YOUR MARK; GET SET; TOE! 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.
