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Now that's a jump!

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It would make even[br]Michael Jordan proud.

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Look at it again.

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See how the abdomen[br]curls up

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as the mantis leaps?

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That curl[br]is the crutial move

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for a juvenile mantis

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-- which doesn't have[br]any wings yet --

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when it launches itself[br]towards a target.

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That's what Cambridge[br]University

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researchers found

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when they analyzed[br]the leap

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using high speed video.

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The curled abdomen[br]changes

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the center[br]of the jumpers mass

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and it also generates

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just a little bit[br]of spin.

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It turns out[br]that the mantis needs

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to generate some spin[br]first

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and then correct it[br]on the fly

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in order to make[br]an accurate jump.

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That finding could be

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very useful for engineers

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who are now[br]trying to figure out

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how to make[br]jumping robots

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not spin out of control.

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Look what happens[br]to the mantis

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when glue is used[br]to make the abdomen

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too stiff to curl[br]properly.

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The mantises[br]couldn't do it.

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Sometimes they even[br]crashed head on.

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Of course,[br]even without the glue

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the mantises[br]weren't perfect.

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But then, neither was[br]Michael Jordan.

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