Hi everyone!
I am a vertebrate #paleontology PhD student at the University of Portsmouth, UK 
My research is centered around the #biomechanics and functional morphology of extinct animals.
I study the locomotion of #pterosaurs and #dinosaurs, specifically focusing on the semi-aquatic theropod #Spinosaurus 
I realise I never did a re-#introduction after moving to my bespoke, artisanal instance. So here it is!
I'm a soon-graduating PhD student at #UBC Biomedical Engineering with a research focus on #imaging, #biomechanics and #simulation of rare pediatric hip disorders like #perthes disease.
My other interests are all over the place: #urbanism, #classiccars, #retrocomputing, #electoralreform, #crochet, #music composition, #linux and #fedi and more I'll probably add as I remember!
Building a simple medical image segmentation tool in #JuliaLang.
So far the method only creates raw contours. Next I need to add contour cutting, merging, spline based smoothing, growing/shrinking, manual drawing, etc. and before you know it we have a high performance and #opensource tool for medical image segmentation!
Awesome cover of Nature's latest issue, illustrating the mechanically self-organized pattern of scales on the head of a young Nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus)
https://www.nature.com/nature/volumes/637/issues/8045
https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2410420121
https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2024-11-26-new-study-reveals-explosive-secret-squirting-cucumber
Seed ejection filmed at 8600 frames per second with a high-speed camera, that remained aimed at the fruit for several days, using an image-based auto-trigger set up.
Working on automated quasi-structured hexahedral meshing of branched structures in #Comodo.
My current solution features a lot of fun tricks, e.g. ray tracing, distance marching, surface smoothing, Bezier splines, lofting, thickening etc.
First biomechanics study reveals devastating power of ancient Indigenous Australian weapons
In a groundbreaking study published in Scientific Reports, Griffith University researchers employed advanced biomechanics technology to assess the striking capabilities of two iconic Indigenous Australian weapons: the kodj and the leangle, the latter traditionally paired with a parrying shield...
More information: https://archaeologymag.com/2024/10/devastating-power-of-ancient-indigenous-australian-weapons/
Follow @archaeology
Biomechanics of maggots:
"Optical mapping of ground reaction force dynamics in freely behaving Drosophila melanogaster larvae", Booth et al. 2024 https://elifesciences.org/articles/87746
"larvae insert and expand denticulated, feet-like structures into substrates as they move, a process not previously observed in soft-bodied animals. These ‘protopodia’ form dynamic anchors to compensate counteracting forces."
When Hippos
Fly: Hippopotamuses Can Move So Fast They Become Airborne, out of #RoyalVeterinaryCollege published by the PeerJ
#hippos #biomechanics #Movement #veterinary #SciComm
https://www.forbes.com/sites/grrlscientist/2024/07/05/when-hippos-fly-hippopotamuses-can-run-so-fast-they-become-airborne/
When Hippos Fly: Hippopotamuses Can Move So Fast They Become Airborne, out of #RoyalVeterinaryCollege published by the PeerJ
#hippos #biomechanics #Movement #veterinary #SciComm https://www.forbes.com/sites/grrlscientist/2024/07/05/when-hippos-fly-hippopotamuses-can-run-so-fast-they-become-airborne/
When Hippos Fly: Hippopotamuses Can Move So Fast They Become Airborne, out of #RoyalVeterinaryCollege published by the PeerJ
#hippos #biomechanics #Movement #veterinary #SciComm https://www.forbes.com/sites/grrlscientist/2024/07/05/when-hippos-fly-hippopotamuses-can-run-so-fast-they-become-airborne/
New #DAWNDINOS paper in Anat.Record! We 3D-modelled the super-weirdo Triassic archosaur Riojasuchus. Pseudosuchian fans rejoice! We scanned the best bones, made a composite digital skeleton, reconstructed muscles & flesh & did some #biomechanics! https://anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ar.25528
Daisy Ridley trained for months to play first woman to swim English Channel - Enlarge / Daisy Ridley stars as Gertrude "Trudy" Ederle in The Young Wo... - https://arstechnica.com/?p=2027358 #youngwomanandthesea #waltdisneystudios #physicalfitness #gertrudeederle #entertainment #biomechanics #daisyridley #swimming #culture #sports #films
High-speed imaging and AI help us understand how insect wings work - Enlarge / A time-lapse showing how an insect's wing adopts very specifi... - https://arstechnica.com/?p=2019187 #computerscience #biomechanics #science #biology #insects #muscles #flight #wings #ai
Did you know that #woodpeckers hit trees at speeds of up to 20 km/h during pecking? Still, their skulls are not shock absorbing, although they experience decelerations of up to 400 g.
Do you want to know why they still don't suffer from concussions?
My colleague Sam Van Wassenbergh and I wrote a quick study for Physics Today that you can read now in the January issue:
https://doi.org/10.1063/PT.3.5385
Study: the best free-throw shooters share these biomechanical traits - There's rarely time to write about every cool science-y story that comes our wa... - https://arstechnica.com/?p=1993101 #12daysofchristmas #sportsscience #biomechanics #basketball #science #physics
New review: What and especially how did dinosaurs eat? This technical book gives a detailed taxonomic overview of a scattered literature.
#Books #BookReview #Bookstodon #FossilFriday #Fossils #Paleontology #Palaeontology #Dinosaurs #Ethology #Anatomy #Biomechanics #Scicomm @bookstodon
Getting to the bottom of how red flour beetles absorb water through their butts - Enlarge / Who doesn't thrill to the sight of a microscopic cross-sectio... - https://arstechnica.com/?p=1926094 #agriculturalsciences #12daysofchristmas #redflourbeetle #biomechanics #genomics #science #animals #beetles #biology #genomes
"High Resolution Outdoor Videography of Insects Using Fast Lock-On Tracking"
We glue a tiny reflector on a bee. Using its reflection, robotic Fast Lock-On (FLO) tracking keeps a telescope focused on the bee flying in the wild. FLO also works from a drone.
Check out the movies!
Huge thanks to the #VolkswagenStiftung for supporting this work at @unifreiburg
#insects #animal #bees #pollinators #agriculture #biomechanics #neuroethology #video #ScienceMastodon
As our #JEB100 Centenary year comes to a close, the Journal of Experimental Biology editors have come together, looking ahead to the challenges and opportunities that await during the next 100 years of #experimentalbiology
https://journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/226/24/jeb246921/336526
