Ep. 27: How to tame the wind?

WIND, zephyr, whirlwind, gale, scurvy, storm, tornado. Can such a force be tamed? Not exactly. However, it can be studied in wind tunnels, which makes it possible, among other things, to prevent catastrophes and damage to buildings and structures. Such research has been conducted by dr. Fabio Rizzo, together with co-workers from the Wind Engineering Laboratory at the Krakow University of Technology. The aim of the proposed research project is to study the interaction between wind and flexible roof structures made of cable net and membrane, which are particularly suitable for covering large spans in sports halls, stadiums and conference halls.

Interesting materials: http://www.windlab.pl/en/

Ep. 26: Copernicus, Kochanowski, Zamoyski - the influence of the Paduans on the fate of the Republic of Poland

Ep. 25: Masters of deceit: how poorly studied, bee- and wasp-resembling moths shed light on the complexity of the fascinating phenomenon of mimicry.

In the evolutionary arms race between predator and prey, bees and wasps (i.e. hymenopterans) have evolved active defence mechanisms: they can painfully sting and bite. Clearwing moths have evolved to resemble wasps and bees in a phenomenon called Batesian mimicry. For years it was known that these day-flying moths look like hymenopterans, but only recently has it been demonstrated that they imitate bees’ and wasps’ behaviour in the way they fly and also… in the sounds their model insects produce. Dr Marta Skowron Volponi along with Paolo Volponi registered sounds produced in flight by clearwing moths and bees in Southeast Asian rainforests and, in collaboration with prof. Francesca Barbero and dr Luca Casacci from the University of Turin, proved that the moths buzz like bees they morphologically resemble.