For anything that flaps and flies, the most important part of the wingbeat cycle is the downstroke. Pulled by the big pectoralis muscle, the wing, when fully extended, crashes through the air to ...

Bat wings are like hands: meaty, bony and full of joints. A new study finds that bats take advantage of their flexibility by folding in their wings on the upstroke to save inertial energy. The ...

Tiny birds rotate wrists to generate lift on the upstroke. Using high-speed X-ray cameras, a team of scientists has discovered how hummingbirds manage to fly like insects despite the limitations of ...

Birds fly more efficiently by folding their wings during the upstroke, according to a recent study. The results could mean that wing-folding is the next step in increasing the propulsive and ...

The alternative text for this image may have been generated using AI. Given the strength of this presumptive leading-edge vortex, and if we assume that it was feeding into the tip vortex strength 10 ...

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Whether people are building a flying machine or nature is evolving one, there is pressure to optimize efficiency. A new analysis by biologists, physicists, and ...