More News
February 2018
"Does a two-element muscle model offer advantages when estimating ankle plantar flexor forces during human cycling?" in The Journal of Biomechanics
October 2017
OpenSim Webinar: Why Are Antagonists Co-activated in My Simulations? Simulating Cycling and Other "High Flexion" Tasks
with speakers Adrian Lai from Simon Fraser University and Allison Arnold from Harvard University.
August 2017
Several publications (links below) reported on the research of graduate student, Brianna McHorse, who investigated how horses hooves evolved.
“How the horse became the only living animal with a single toe” in The Guardian.
“How Horses Got Their Hooves” in The New York Times.
“How the horse lost its toes: Creature evolved hooves 5 million years ago to gallop faster after moving from protected forests to open grassland" in The Daily Mail.
August 2017
“Understanding the IT Band” in the Harvard Gazette.
The Harvard Gazette discusses two recent studies by ex-postdoctoral fellow Carolyn Eng (co-authors Daniel Lieberman, Andrew Biewener, and Allison Arnold-Rife) that examine how the iliotibial band stores and releases elastic energy to make walking and running more efficient.
April 2015
Several publications (links below) reported on the research of graduate student, Glenna Clifton, who investigated how grebes produce the hydrodynamic forces necessary to stay above the water surface during their rushing behavior.
"Slap keeps rushing grebes afloat" in The Journal of Experimental Biology
"How do these birds run on water?" in Science
Read here
"Birds "Walk" on Water to Impress Mates—Here's How They Do It" in National Geographic
"News Picks : Diving bird runs on water to attract a mate" in Physics Today
April 2015 - "Why birds don't crash" in the Harvard Gazette
The Harvard Gazette reviews a recent study by ex-postdoctoral fellow C. Dave Williams and Andrew Biewener that was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in March (112 (11): 3392-3396) on how pigeons adopt two different wing-stroke strategies to fly through tight spaces past vertical obstacles.
January 2013 - "Frankensteinish Flight of the Bumblebee" in Science Magazine
Science Magazine reviews Andrew Mountcastle's research on the advantages of wing resilience in bees and wasps.
January 2013 - "Aerial Acrobats: Pigeons Whoosh Through Tight Spaces" in Science Magazine
An article detailing the research of post-doc, David Williams, on the tactics that pigeons use while flying through tight spaces. The article also reports on the pigeon turning research of graduate student, Ivo Ros.
October 2012 - "Grebes Walk on Water" in the Oregon Field Guide, Oregon Public Broadcasting
The local Oregon Public Broadcasting show follows graduate student, Glenna Clifton, as she films Western and Clark's
grebes performing their elaborate pair-boding display called rushing.
September 2012 - "Dragonfly" in the Riskin's Business column on the Discovery Channel
Dan Riskin interviews Professor Stacey Combes about her dragonfly prey-capture experiments at the Concord Field Station greenhouse.
September 2012 - "Jumping Jerboas" in the Riskin's Business column on the Discovery Channel
Dan Riskin interviews graduate student, Talia Moore, to find out how jerboas excel at running and hopping on the sand.
March 2012 - "Coolest Lab Ever? Studying Locomotion with Rat Treadmills, Wind Tunnels" on ScienceFriday
Flora Lichtman comes to the Concord Field Station to interview Dr. Biewener about what it's like to research
comparative biomechanics.
December 2011 - "Flight of the Wild Pigeon" on NPR
Dr. Biewener is interviewed by Ira Flatow about a recent publication on pigeon turning during flight.
December 2011 - "Pigeon-power seen as model for future drone technology" on Reuters
Graduate student Ivo Ros is interviewed about his work studying aerodynamic force production during
pigeon flight.
October 2011 - "Dragonflies: The Flying Aces of the Insect World" in Science Nation.
The NSF online magazine covers the innovative research ongoing in the Combes Lab.
November 2009 - "Taming Turbulence" in the Harvard Magazine
The Harvard Magazine features research by the Combes lab on how orchid bees extend their legs to induce greater roll
stability during turbulent, windy conditions.
Watch orchid bees in flight here
January 2002 - "Hop, Skip, and Soar" in the Harvard Magazine
This issue of the Harvard Magazine features the Concord Field Station, including six pages of beautiful photography
documenting some of the ongoing research conducted in the Biewener Lab.