speed

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Why Are Medium-Sized Animals the Fastest? A Theory
Why Are Cheetahs the
Fastest? A Study Explains
NEW STUDY

Why Are Cheetahs the Fastest? A Study Explains

They fall in a 'sweet spot' while larger, smaller animals hit muscle limits

(Newser) - Lifespan, strength, and brain size tend to increase with an animal's size, yet speed does not. The largest land animal, the elephant, wouldn't come close to catching the fastest land animal, the cheetah. It's no anomaly. The fastest animals on land, in water, and in air are...

Reveal About Usain Bolt's Stride Upends Sprinting Science

Jamaican runner has an uneven stride, perhaps due to scoliosis

(Newser) - You'd think a smooth, even gait would ensure the fastest running speeds for elite athletes—but researchers who studied the world's fastest man have found that, at least in his case, symmetry doesn't matter. Per the New York Times , scientists from Southern Methodist University in Dallas released...

World's Fastest Animal Is Very, Very Small

When speed is measured in body lengths per second, that is

(Newser) - Watch your back, Usain Bolt: A California physics major has found that a tiny mite is (sort of) the fastest land animal on Earth, keeping a pace equivalent to that of a human running 1,300 miles per hour, the Christian Science Monitor reports. Why "sort of"? As...

Humans Capable of 40mph Run
 Humans Capable of 40mph Run 

Humans Capable of 40mph Run

Pace would be faster than Bolt, slower than a lion

(Newser) - New research suggests that human beings are biologically capable of running close to 40 miles an hour, a pace that's approximately 12mph faster than Usain Bolt and just 10mph slower than a lion. A man able to run at this speed would cross the finish line of 100 meters as...

Say What? Convertibles Harm Hearing

Noise can reach damaging 90 decibels at 50 mph

(Newser) - Tearing down the road in a convertible with the wind whipping at your ears exacts the same kind of hearing damage as listening to a pile driver, scientists warn. Noise from the engine, road, traffic and wind can be as high as 90 decibels at speeds of 50 mph and...

iPhones Plod Along on Crowded Network

Heavy-using customers frustrated in busy areas

(Newser) - The iPhone has a slick package and a supercool image--but when it comes to speed, the gadget can be a clunker, the New York Times reports. Customers are fed up with the long waits that stem from heavy traffic on the AT&T network, currently the only one available to...

Firefox 3.5 Could Upgrade the Whole Web
 Firefox 3.5 Could 
 Upgrade the Whole Web 
tech review

Firefox 3.5 Could Upgrade the Whole Web

New browser is faster and ready for HTML upgrade

(Newser) - Firefox, once lauded for “speed, stability, and customizability,” seemed lately to have fallen behind the competition—but with version 3.5, out today, it’s back and better than ever, writes Farhad Manjoo for Slate. The new version “adds a much-needed speed boost” alongside bug fixes. And...

Airbus Sends Warning on Speed Sensors

Faulty readings may have played a role in Air France crash

(Newser) - The maker of the Air France jet that crashed in the Atlantic issued a warning to pilots on how to respond when speed sensors malfunction, buttressing a belief that faulty readings played a role in the disaster, Reuters reports. An Airbus memo also says the company is replacing all such...

Air France Jet Was Moving Too Slowly

Airbus to give thrust guidelines today

(Newser) - The crashed Air France jet was flying too slowly, insiders have told Le Monde. Airbus, which built the plane, plans to notify airlines of the right thrust levels for flights in bad weather today, the Daily Telegraph says. Whether speed could be at fault for the jet’s series of...

Driver Clings to Stolen Truck in 70-Mile Cop Chase

(Newser) - A driver leaped onto his stolen truck as it pulled out of Georgia parking lot and held on for a 70-mile high-speed cop chase, reports CNN. The driver called police from his cell phone from the truck, and clung to the rig as the thief gunned it. The getaway was...

Finger Length Holds Key to Running Skill

Measure digits to predict aggression, math scores, arthritis

(Newser) - Boys with ring fingers longer than their middle fingers may be speedier than peers with more symmetrical hands, a study of Qatari adolescents suggests. The speed difference is associated with exposure to testosterone in the womb, LiveScience reports. Finger length can also predict men’s aggression and SAT math scores,...

New Safari 4 Frustrates, but Is Blazing Fast
New Safari 4 Frustrates, but
Is Blazing Fast 
SOFTWARE REVIEW

New Safari 4 Frustrates, but Is Blazing Fast

Apple browser's UI improvements flop, but halve load times

(Newser) - Apple’s new Safari 4 browser is the fastest available by far, Walter Mossberg writes in the Wall Street Journal, but the much-hyped “user-interface changes are a big disappointment.” In most cases, Safari just follows other browsers with helpful improvements to its format. But moving tabs to the...

UK Team Revs Plans for 1000mph Car

Aims to smash land speed record

(Newser) - A team of British engineers is planning to build a car that could reach up to 1000mph and pulverize the team’s own land speed record of 763mph, reports the Independent. The toughest part of building Bloodhound, as the car is called, will be raising the needed $20 million—and...

Racing T-Rex? You'll Need a Head Start

Computer projection shows 6-ton carnivore was fleet of foot

(Newser) - If a professional soccer player raced a T-Rex, chances are the athlete would wind up a dino snack, according to a new computer model projection. The simulation, which is the first to rely mainly on data from fossils rather than modern descendants of prehistoric beasts, showed the 6-ton carnivore steaming...

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