Running cockroaches start to recover from being shoved
sideways before their dawdling nervous system kicks in to tell their legs what
to do, researchers have found. These new insights on how biological systems
stabilize could one day help engineers design steadier robots and improve
doctors' understanding of human gait abnormalities.
In experiments, the roaches were able to maintain their
footing mechanically—using their momentum and the spring-like architecture of
their legs, rather than neurologically, relying on impulses sent from their
central nervous system to their muscles.