USF study: Reptile tongue movements could inspire biomedical and space tools
Peer-Reviewed Publication
Updates every hour. Last Updated: 9-Sep-2025 16:17 ET (9-Sep-2025 20:17 GMT/UTC)
Salamanders and chameleons, despite evolving in different habitats, use the same “slingshot” tongue mechanism powered by ordinary tissues, tendons and bone. This biological design could be scaled for human applications, from biomedical devices that clear blood clots to large-scale tools for disaster recovery or space exploration. The findings underscore how nature’s solutions can guide technological innovation.
MIT physicists introduce a concept for a “neutrino laser” — a burst of neutrinos that could be produced by laser-cooling a gas of radioactive atoms down to temperatures colder than interstellar space. Such a laser could be used as a new form of communication or a new source of radioisotopes in medicine.
The Europlanet Science Congress 2025 will be held jointly with the annual meeting of the American Astronomical Society’s Division of Planetary Science (EPSC-DPS2025) from 7–12 September 2025 at Finlandia Hall, Helsinki, Finland. With around 1800 participants expected to join in person and online, it will be the largest planetary science meeting held to date in Europe. Press briefings will be livestreamed and press notices on presentations of interest to the media will be issued by the EPSC-DPS2025 Press Office during the meeting.