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Polar Bears and Tires | Earth Wise

January 12, 2023 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

There is lots of interest in traction. People want to find better ways to move across wet and frozen surfaces safely. This applies to both the shoes on our feet and the tires on our cars.

Researchers at the University of Akron along with colleagues at Syracuse University and at Bridgestone, the tire company, have been studying how many arctic animals can walk and run across the ice without slipping and falling. Their research focused on the paws of polar bears.

Previous studies discovered that polar bears have papillae – little bumps on the pads of their feet – that provide improved traction on snow. The new research also looked at the paws of other species of bear – brown bears and black bears – and found that these others also have papillae on their paw pads, but that those of polar bears are as much as 50% taller. These taller bumps give the pads a 30-50% increase in frictional shear stress.

The research may lead to various applications. For example, snow tires typically have deeper treads, but the polar bear study may lead to some new designs that would improve traction. People who do high-altitude climbing are interested in the research as are companies that deliver goods in bad weather. Anyone who has to be out and about in bad weather would like to get a better grip.

There are various other animals with traction-improving adaptations that are probably worth studying. These include dogs, wolves, foxes, and mountain goats. The same researchers at Akron have also studied other animals with unique abilities to deal with challenging surfaces including geckos, spiders, and mussels. The natural world is filled with examples of creatures who can easily function in environments that we humans find very challenging.

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UA researchers’ focus on tire traction leads to investigation of polar bear paws

Photo, posted March 2, 2008, courtesy of Sam Weng via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Tick-Borne Pathogens In Canada | Earth Wise

December 27, 2022 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Measuring only three to five millimeters in size, tiny ticks are a big problem. They are widely distributed in many parts of the world, especially in warm and humid climates. Ticks are arachnids – not insects – meaning they’re more closely related to spiders than to flies or mosquitos. They are external parasites that feast on the blood of birds, reptiles, amphibians, and mammals – including humans.

In the United States, ticks are responsible for spreading potentially life-threatening infectious diseases. According to estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, ticks infect more than 300,000 people with Lyme disease in the U.S. every year, and the numbers continue to rise. Other common tick-borne diseases include anaplasmosis, babesiosis, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, and powassan encephalitis.

Ticks are becoming a problem in Canada as well. According to a new study by researchers from McGill University and the University of Ottawa, tick-borne pathogens are on the rise in Central Canada – a region where ticks were never previously detected.

In the study, the researchers collected ticks across Ontario and Quebec. They found that five emerging pathogens were present across their study sites, including the pathogens that cause Lyme disease and babesiosis. The researchers also found that pathogens can transmit in different ways. Typically, pathogens are transmitted to a tick after feeding from the blood of an infected host, like a small mammal. But the research team found evidence of pathogens that could be directly transmitted from adult female ticks to larval ticks.

According to the researchers, more comprehensive testing and tracking is needed to detect the spread and risks of tick-borne pathogens to humans and wildlife in Canada.

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