Watch This: Cicadas Kill Bacteria with Structures on Their Wings
Clanger or clear wing cicada (Psaltoda claripennis). Image courtesy of Arthur Chapman/Flickr Cicadas don’t use antibacterial wing sanitizer, so how do these insects keep their wings free of bacteria? Hint: it’s structural. The wings of the Clanger cicada kill certain bacteria by ripping their cell membranes. A pattern of pillar-like nanostructures on[...]






