video: This video shows how the tendrils of a cucumber coil. The cucumber plant uses tendrils to attach onto structures or other plants and ascend toward coveted areas of unobstructed light. As the tendril coils into two helices, it shortens the distance between the plant and its support, winching the plant upwards. The straight tendril is transformed into a helical coiled shape, which is caused by an internal "fiber ribbon" composed of two layers of specialized stiff fiber cells. Authors Sharon Gerbode and Josh Puzey describe the overwinding coiling mechanism and explain how the entire tendril changes its shape. They also suggest that the discovery may lead to the design of biomimetic springs that can be fine-tuned to create applications ranging from nanorotors to earthquake stabilization. This video 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: Video © <i>Science</i>/AAAS