energy

One unique characteristic of human beings may have played a role in our ancestors’ ability to traverse greater distances: putting the heel down first. Researchers from Penn State University show that walking with a heel-strike allows individuals to expel less energy while moving, but generates much more severe shocks throughout the leg. This dual effect may have affected the anatomy, ecology, and evolution of early hominins. An efficient step with a hidden price An experiment was conducted to compare three chimpanzees to 12 healthy humans as with the results just published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The experiment used high-speed cameras and force plates to capture how the feet met the ground. In addition, people in