Bat wings are like hands: meaty, bony and full of joints. A new study finds that bats take advantage of their flexibility by folding in their wings on the upstroke to save inertial energy. The ...

For anything that flaps and flies, the most important part of the wingbeat cycle is the downstroke. Pulled by the big pectoralis muscle, the wing, when fully extended, crashes through the air to ...

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Whether people are building a flying machine or nature is evolving one, there is pressure to optimize efficiency. A new analysis by biologists, physicists, and ...