Watch: How do Stinging Nettles Inject Poison?
4 February 2020
Last update: 04/02/20 15:02
The leaves of stinging nettles are covered in ‘pipette-like’ stingers which penetrate the skin on contact and deposit a small amount of poison. The ‘pipette-like’ design means that almost all of the poison contained in the stinger can be injected at once if sufficient force is applied to bend the stinger to an angle of 90 degrees. This is demonstrated in laboratory experiments conducted by Kaare Jensen at the Technical University of Denmark.
This video is part of a collaboration between FYFD and the Journal of Fluid Mechanics featuring a series of interviews with researchers from the APS DFD 2017 conference.
Sponsored by FYFD, the Journal of Fluid Mechanics, and the UK Fluids Network. Produced by Tom Crawford and Nicole Sharp with assistance from A.J. Fillo.
For more maths related fun check out Tom’s website.
Related Posts
Flying beetles, stinging nettles and jellyfish
Tracking the invasive Rhinoceros Beetle in Hawai’i, studying how stinging nettles inject their toxin, and investigating the mechanism used by jellyfish to attack their prey – step inside the latest in Fluid Mechanics research. This video is part of a collaboration between FYFD and the Journal of Fluid Mechanics featuring a series of interviews with researchers from the […]
Towards a case for legally recognising and labelling ‘forced-to-penetrate’ cases as rape
Section 1 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 defines rape as the non-consensual and intentional penile penetration of the victim’s vagina, anus, or mouth by the perpetrator, and that the perpetrator does not have a reasonable belief in the victim’s consent. Under this definition whilst both men and women can be victims of rape, only […]
A new technique for crafting optical components: easy, cheap, and fluid
The device above might not look familiar, but the object it produces (or used to produce) probably would. Lens grinding – or shaping a lens by the removal of material – has been the method of choice for lens production for hundreds of years, and very little has changed in that time. Better, more precise […]
Skiing, Avalanches and Freezing Bubbles
With cold weather and the Winter Olympics currently upon us, we bring you a special winter-themed video from JFM and FYFD. Featuring interviews with researchers from the APS DFD 2017 conference discussing their work on snow friction, granular flows and freezing bubbles. This video is part of an ongoing series as part of a collaboration […]
;
