All articles tagged with #knots
Scientists have discovered that the twisting structures in DNA previously thought to be knots are actually coils called plectonemes, which form under stress and influence gene regulation. Using nanopores to study DNA behavior, they found that these coils can be distinguished from knots by their size and formation conditions, with implications for understanding DNA processes like transcription and replication.
A study by Johns Hopkins University researchers reveals that people struggle to judge the strength of knots, highlighting a potential "blind spot" in our physical reasoning. Despite knots being a common part of daily life, participants in the study failed to accurately assess knot strength, even with visual aids. The research suggests that understanding soft objects like string or rope may be more challenging than solid ones, and that expertise in knot-tying, such as that of sailors or mountaineers, might improve judgment.
A study by Johns Hopkins University reveals that people struggle to visually assess the strength of knots, despite their familiarity with them. Participants consistently failed to identify the strongest knot among similar ones, even when shown videos or diagrams. This suggests a blind spot in our intuitive physical reasoning, as we cannot easily discern the internal structure of non-rigid objects like knots. The research highlights the complexity of understanding knot strength and suggests that expertise, such as that of sailors, might improve performance.
A study by Johns Hopkins University reveals that despite our familiarity with knots, most people struggle to visually determine the strength of different knots. Participants consistently failed to identify the strongest knot, even when shown videos or diagrams. This suggests a blind spot in our physical reasoning, as we cannot intuitively assess the internal structure of non-rigid objects like knots. The research highlights the complexity of intuitive physics and our limitations in understanding the physical properties of certain objects.
Researchers at the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne have discovered thousands of new transformable knots, including three novel shapes that the figure-eight knot can assume. Using a computational pipeline that combines randomized spatial sampling and physics simulation, the team identified new geometric and topological patterns in elastic knots. These findings have implications for the design of self-deployable structures and the development of new metamaterials. The research opens up potential new directions for studying complex ensembles of knotted systems.
MIT mathematicians and biophysicists at Georgia Tech have discovered how California blackworms can twist and curl around each other by the thousands, forming tightly wound balls and then untangling just as quickly. The team has now pinned down the mechanism by which the worms tangle up and quickly unwind, which could inspire designs for fast, reversible, and self-assembling materials and fibers. The study could also lead to the development of smart robots that could change their grasp by tangling and untangling.