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| Spider-Man feats 'impossible' because of small feet | Spider-Man feats 'impossible' because of small feet |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| A human could not do what Spider-Man can unless 40% of the body was covered in sticky pads and they had impossibly large feet, according to new research. | A human could not do what Spider-Man can unless 40% of the body was covered in sticky pads and they had impossibly large feet, according to new research. |
| Scientists in Cambridge, Australia and the USA comparing the weight and footpads of climbing creatures including spiders, found a size limit when it comes to the sticky pads. | |
| A gecko is about the largest animal that can climb using this method. | A gecko is about the largest animal that can climb using this method. |
| They hope the study could help in the development of new adhesive substances. | They hope the study could help in the development of new adhesive substances. |
| Read more on this and other stories from Cambridgeshire | |
| In order to successfully scale a building the way Marvel comic book hero Spider-Man does, a human would need "impractically large sticky feet - our shoes would need to be a European size 145 or a US size 114", said Walter Federle, from Cambridge University's Department of Zoology. | In order to successfully scale a building the way Marvel comic book hero Spider-Man does, a human would need "impractically large sticky feet - our shoes would need to be a European size 145 or a US size 114", said Walter Federle, from Cambridge University's Department of Zoology. |
| Evolutionary limits | Evolutionary limits |
| "We'd need about 40% of our total body surface, or roughly 80% of our front, to be covered in sticky footpads if we wanted to do a convincing Spider-Man impression," Dr David Labonte, from the same department, said. | "We'd need about 40% of our total body surface, or roughly 80% of our front, to be covered in sticky footpads if we wanted to do a convincing Spider-Man impression," Dr David Labonte, from the same department, said. |
| So, Spider-Man probably could not do what a spider can, but tree frogs, arachnids and geckos, can. | So, Spider-Man probably could not do what a spider can, but tree frogs, arachnids and geckos, can. |
| This is because of the percentage of their body surface covered by adhesive footpads, the researchers concluded. | This is because of the percentage of their body surface covered by adhesive footpads, the researchers concluded. |
| The sticky pad percentage increases with body size setting an "evolutionary limit" to the size of animal able to use this climbing method. | The sticky pad percentage increases with body size setting an "evolutionary limit" to the size of animal able to use this climbing method. |
| Anything larger than a gecko would need "impossibly big feet", they said. | Anything larger than a gecko would need "impossibly big feet", they said. |
| The scientists compared the weight and footpad size of 225 climbing animal species. | The scientists compared the weight and footpad size of 225 climbing animal species. |
| 'Stickier' feet | 'Stickier' feet |
| "We were looking at vastly different animals. A spider and a gecko are about as different as a human is to an ant, but if you look at their feet, they have remarkably similar footpads," Dr Labonte said. | "We were looking at vastly different animals. A spider and a gecko are about as different as a human is to an ant, but if you look at their feet, they have remarkably similar footpads," Dr Labonte said. |
| "Adhesive pads of climbing animals are a prime example of convergent evolution, where multiple species have independently, through very different evolutionary histories, arrived at the same solution to a problem. | "Adhesive pads of climbing animals are a prime example of convergent evolution, where multiple species have independently, through very different evolutionary histories, arrived at the same solution to a problem. |
| "When this happens, it's a clear sign that it must be a very good solution." | "When this happens, it's a clear sign that it must be a very good solution." |
| The researchers hope their work could contribute towards the development of manmade adhesives. | The researchers hope their work could contribute towards the development of manmade adhesives. |