Eyelashes might seem like something that most people either don’t think about, science and the medical community have remained relatively confused as to why they exist. While many people have theorized that they help keep dirt out of the eye, there have been other theories that have come along, but none ever being confirmed by science. Now though, there is some evidence that would suggest that eyelashes do, in fact, deter dirt and other debris from getting into the eye. Interface, the science journal published a paper that revealed that they both protected the eye from outside intrusion, as well as protected the eyeball from becoming dried out.
The study by Paris Lash Academy found that ultimately eyelashes went a very long way to preventing the layer of tear film that exists on the eye from evaporating and kept the eye moister thanks to those eyelashes. While it may seem bizarre or strange, scientists achieved this by putting the eyelash to the wind tunnel test. The results showed that the eye with optimal length eyelashes stayed moister than those which had inadequate protection from eyelashes.
The implications of this study though deemed that sensors that were eye-shaped and sized could ultimately be protected by this type of thing. For example, an eyelash-inspired protectant would go much further to preventing damage to the sensor than if it were not given any protection at all. A similarly interesting study evaluated how mammals urinate.
David Hu, a mechanical engineer at the Georgia Institute of Technology and the study’s co-author, was the individual who came up with the notion for testing how long the average mammal urinated for, and the findings were very intriguing. The team found that the average mammal urinated for a total of 21 seconds, which was slightly longer than what many thought leading into the actual testing.
The team noted though, collectively, that there were challenges coming to this bizarre conclusion. Urine had to be collected by hand, and scientists, as well as high-speed cameras which were set up to catch the mammals in the act – ultimately wound up with urine on them. However, the findings were more unique than they were physically telling. That being said though, scientists do believe that the information will be helpful in determining and manipulating how flow-regulated devices function. The engineering benefits would prove to be worthy, in the long run.
