Posted on 02/01/2021 5:05:11 PM PST by Candor7
An international team of scientists have been able to replicate how a wombat produces square poo—and it could change the way geometric products are manufactured in future.
Research published today in the Royal Society of Chemistry's journal Soft Matter, expands on the discovery that wombat poo forms its distinctive shape within the wombat's intestines, not at the point of exit as previously thought.
They have now discovered that the slow passage of the feces and differing stiffness within the last 17 percent of the intestines produces the square shape—before exiting via its round anus.
This discovery is not only applicable to wombats—for example, cancer increases the tension in different regions of the colon and can produce different shaped feces—but the technique can help scientists and engineers develop new ways of manufacturing soft materials, such as plastics in geometrical shapes.
These learnings could also be applied to other fields such as clinical pathology and digestive health in other species, including humans.
University of Tasmania wildlife ecologist Dr. Scott Carver made the accidental discovery while dissecting a wombat cadaver as part of his primary research into treating mange disease in wombats.
The cubed poo study focuses on bare-nosed (common) wombats, which are predominantly found across south-eastern Australia.
"Bare-nosed wombats are renowned for producing distinctive, cube-shaped poos. This ability to form relatively uniform, clean cut feces is unique in the animal kingdom," Dr. Carver said.
"They place these feces at prominent points in their home range, such as around a rock or a log, to communicate with each other. Our research found that these cubes are formed within the last sections of the intestine—and finally proves that you really can fit a square peg through a round hole.".................( More at link)
Extrusion Ping.
You have heard of cubic zirconium?
Prepare yourself for Cubic Sausage.
Slow news day?
Or is this still another story about that idiot in the White House?
Ya’ know, I was just wondering recently how wombats excrete poop cubes. Just like me wondering how you can get 10,000,000 fewer votes and still win the popular vote.
As long as it isn’t wombat poo sausage.
Who would want such a crappy job?
I needed to know this! It was keeping me up at night!
I’d rather have scientists work on the mystery of square wombat poop than spend billions of dollars on junk science theories like Climate Change.
Richard Gere wants a Wombat
See my new tag line.
Is that really new and startling information?
I recall Play Dough sets that gave you a variety of tubes to push the colored clay out of. Some were square shapes, others like triangles or stars. This was around 1963.
No Wombats needed.
This is a painful subject ... for wombats.
Hence the expression, “sh!tting bricks.”
Saw that. Chose to ignore it. The thought that there are people in Tasmania studying poop isn’t surprising, there’s not much else going on down there...
Is this how you get a square peg in a round hole?
Looks like a mini-corndog!
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