image: A physical model constructed from one stretched strip of silicone rubber (red) bonded to a second layer of unstretched silicone rubber (clear) recreates the coiling mechanism observed in fiber ribbons. When the ends of the initially flat model are brought together, the model coils into two helices. This image relates to a paper that appeared in the Aug. 31, 2012, issue of Science, published by AAAS. The paper, by S.J. Gerbode at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., and colleagues was titled, "How the Cucumber Tendril Coils and Overwinds." view more
Credit: Image courtesy of Joshua Puzey and Sharon Gerbode