Scientists discover how snakes stand upright without limbs

Science outlets including Earth.com and Discover magazine highlighted a study co-authored by University of Cincinnati Professor Bruce Jayne, an expert in snake locomotion, examining how snakes can stand upright without arms or legs.

Jayne, a biologist in UC's College of Arts and Sciences, worked with engineering researchers at Harvard University on a study looking at the physics behind this remarkable ability. The research combines biology, mathematics, and mechanical modeling to explain how snakes manage such a delicate balancing act.

Researchers discovered that snakes don't have to stiffen the entire length of their bodies to span a gap in a forest or reach up to a branch or ledge. Instead, the muscles become rigid near the base where the animal's weight is supported.

The key is the animal's strength in maintaining balance as it stretches up or outward, they found.

The study was published in the Journal of The Royal Society Interface.

Previously, Jayne has studied the many ways snakes navigate obstacles such as tunnels, sand dunes and branches. And in 2021 he discovered a unique way climbing snakes such as brown tree snakes scale wide-barreled objects like tree trunks or light poles that he calls lasso locomotion.

Read the Earth.com story.

Featured image at top: A cobra strikes a defensive pose. Researchers from the University of Cincinnati and Harvard University unlocked the secret behind a snake's ability to lift itself upright. Photo/DesignBase/iStockPhoto