{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,16]],"date-time":"2026-05-16T04:04:56Z","timestamp":1778904296626,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":80,"publisher":"American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)","issue":"101","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,23]],"date-time":"2026-04-23T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1776902400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":365,"URL":"https:\/\/www.science.org\/content\/page\/science-licenses-journal-article-reuse"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.science.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Sci. Robot."],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,23]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>\n                    Entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) exhibit a bending-elastic instability, or kink, before becoming airborne, a feature previously hypothesized but not substantiated to enhance jumping performance. Here, we provide the evidence that this kink is crucial for improving launch performance. We demonstrate that EPNs actively modulate their aspect ratio, forming a liquid-latched \u03b1-shaped loop over a slow timescale\n                    <jats:inline-formula>\n                      <mml:math xmlns:mml=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1998\/Math\/MathML\" display=\"inline\" overflow=\"scroll\">\n                        <mml:mrow>\n                          <mml:mi mathvariant=\"script\">O<\/mml:mi>\n                        <\/mml:mrow>\n                      <\/mml:math>\n                    <\/jats:inline-formula>\n                    (1 second), and then rapidly open it\n                    <jats:inline-formula>\n                      <mml:math xmlns:mml=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1998\/Math\/MathML\" display=\"inline\" overflow=\"scroll\">\n                        <mml:mrow>\n                          <mml:mi mathvariant=\"script\">O<\/mml:mi>\n                        <\/mml:mrow>\n                      <\/mml:math>\n                    <\/jats:inline-formula>\n                    (10 microseconds), achieving heights of 20 body lengths and generating power of \u223c10\n                    <jats:sup>4<\/jats:sup>\n                    watts per kilogram. Using a bioinspired physical model [termed the soft jumping model (SoftJM)], we explored the mechanisms and implications of this kink. EPNs control their takeoff direction by adjusting their head position and center of mass, a mechanism verified through phase maps of jump directions in numerical simulations and SoftJM experiments. Our findings reveal that the reversible kink instability at the point of highest curvature on the ventral side enhances energy storage using the nematode\u2019s limited muscular force. We investigated the effect of the aspect ratio on kink instability and jumping performance using SoftJM and quantified EPN cuticle stiffness with atomic force microscopy measurements, comparing these findings with those of\n                    <jats:italic>Caenorhabditis elegans<\/jats:italic>\n                    . This investigation led to a stiffness-modified SoftJM design with a carbon fiber backbone, achieving jumps of \u223c25 body lengths. Our study reveals how harnessing kink instabilities, a typical failure mode, enables bidirectional jumping in soft robots on complex substrates like sand, offering an approach for designing limbless robots for controlled jumping, locomotion, and even planetary exploration.\n                  <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1126\/scirobotics.adq3121","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,23]],"date-time":"2025-04-23T13:58:11Z","timestamp":1745416691000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.34133\/aaas_crossmark","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":14,"title":["Reversible kink instability drives ultrafast jumping in nematodes and soft robots"],"prefix":"10.1126","volume":"10","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1602-9599","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Sunny","family":"Kumar","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA."}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0250-757X","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Ishant","family":"Tiwari","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA."}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0024-5086","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Victor M.","family":"Ortega-Jimenez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA."},{"name":"Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 947206, USA."}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Adler R.","family":"Dillman","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Nematology, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, USA."}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1034-4256","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Dongjing","family":"He","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA."}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2274-4903","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Yuhang","family":"Hu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA."},{"name":"George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA."}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9788-9920","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Saad","family":"Bhamla","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA."}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"221","reference":[{"key":"e_1_3_2_2_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"S. Wainwright Axis and Circumference (Harvard Univ. Press 1988).","DOI":"10.4159\/harvard.9780674436961"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_3_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1103\/PhysRevLett.99.076101"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_4_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1103\/PhysRevLett.128.058101"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_5_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/aps3.11382"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_6_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/0002-9610(77)90288-4"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_7_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1088\/1748-3190\/11\/1\/016003"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_8_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cocis.2019.02.008"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_9_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1126\/scirobotics.abb1967"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_10_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jmps.2019.07.008"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_11_2","first-page":"44","article-title":"Neoaplectana carpocapsae n. sp. (Anguillulata, Steinernematinae), novy cizopasn\u2019\u0131k housenek obalece jablecn\u2019eho, Carpocapsa pomonella L","volume":"19","author":"Weiser J.","year":"1955","unstructured":"J. Weiser, Neoaplectana carpocapsae n. sp. (Anguillulata, Steinernematinae), novy cizopasn\u2019\u0131k housenek obalece jablecn\u2019eho, Carpocapsa pomonella L. Vestnik Ceskoslovenske Spolecnosti Zoologicke. 19, 44\u201352 (1955).","journal-title":"Vestnik Ceskoslovenske Spolecnosti Zoologicke."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_12_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1146\/annurev.en.38.010193.001145"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_13_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cub.2011.01.048"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_14_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/206210a0"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_15_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/17254"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_16_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1139\/z99-178"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_17_2","first-page":"153","article-title":"History of entomopathogenic nematology","volume":"44","author":"Poinar G. O.","year":"2012","unstructured":"G. O. Poinar Jr., P. S. Grewal, History of entomopathogenic nematology. J. Nematol. 44, 153\u2013161 (2012).","journal-title":"J. Nematol."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_18_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.1211436109"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_19_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0227448"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_20_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1098\/rsif.2021.0672"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_21_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1088\/1748-3190\/acdb1c"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_22_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1098\/rspa.2013.0497"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_23_2","first-page":"193","article-title":"Muscle contributions to body mass center velocity during vertical and forward jumping","volume":"35","author":"Suzuki Y.","year":"2017","unstructured":"Y. Suzuki, Y. Kobayashi, M. Murata, M. Takizawa, Muscle contributions to body mass center velocity during vertical and forward jumping. ISBS Proc. Arch. 35, 193 (2017).","journal-title":"ISBS Proc. Arch."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_24_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1098\/rsos.171628"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_25_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s41467-019-12759-5"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_26_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.1219965110"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_27_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1126\/science.aao1082"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_28_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1242\/jeb.006486"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_29_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1017\/S0022149X00016539"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_30_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cub.2023.05.042"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_31_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.2217737120"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_32_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s11340-006-0631-z"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_33_2","unstructured":"E. P. Popov Engineering Mechanics of Solids (Prentice Hall 1990)."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_34_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"B. Lautrup Physics of Continuous Matter: Exotic and Everyday Phenomena in the Macroscopic World (CRC Press 2011).","DOI":"10.1201\/9781439894200"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_35_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s41467-023-36376-5"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_36_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1098\/rsif.2017.0083"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_37_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.022052899"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_38_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1242\/jeb.205.24.3877"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_39_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3897\/zookeys.915.38348"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_40_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.2211283119"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_41_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s41598-018-25227-9"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_42_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1242\/jeb.41.1.135"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_43_2","first-page":"000435","article-title":"Steinernema carpocapsae jumps with greater velocity and acceleration than previously reported","author":"Dillman A. R.","year":"2021","unstructured":"A. R. Dillman, W. Korff, M. H. Dickinson, P. W. Sternberg, Steinernema carpocapsae jumps with greater velocity and acceleration than previously reported. MicroPubl. Biol., 000435 (2021).","journal-title":"MicroPubl. Biol."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_44_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/418603a"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_45_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1242\/jeb.201129"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_46_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"R. Gaugler Entomopathogenic Nematology (CABI Publishing 2002).","DOI":"10.1079\/9780851995670.0000"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_47_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/0012-1606(81)90204-9"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_48_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1086\/284068"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_49_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1088\/1748-3190\/10\/6\/066012"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_50_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s41586-022-04606-3"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_51_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3390\/app10238607"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_52_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1126\/scirobotics.aag2048"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_53_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/nphys3568"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_54_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1126\/science.adg5067"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_55_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1126\/science.66.1709.302.b"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_56_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.21769\/BioProtoc.1587"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_57_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"T. Stiernagle \u201cMaintenance of C. elegans\u201d in WormBook: The Online Review of C. elegans Biology (WormBook Research Community 2006); www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/books\/NBK19649\/.","DOI":"10.1895\/wormbook.1.101.1"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_58_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/app.41050"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_59_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s41586-021-04029-6"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_60_2","unstructured":"A. Tekinalp S. H. Kim Y. Bhosale T. Parthasarathy N. Naughton A. Albazroun R. Joon S. Cui I. Nasiriziba M. St\u00f6lzle C.-H. Shih M. Gazzola GazzolaLab\/PyElastica: v0.3.2 Zenodo (2024); https:\/\/doi.org\/10.5281\/zenodo.10883271."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_61_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s41598-022-08605-2"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_62_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1088\/1748-3182\/3\/3\/034001"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_63_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/nmeth.2089"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_64_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1017\/S002211207000215X"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_65_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3390\/mi9090459"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_66_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cub.2020.06.076"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_67_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1063\/1.3529236"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_68_2","first-page":"14","article-title":"Aplectana krauss\u00ebi n. sp., eine in der blattwespe lyda sp. parasitierende nematodenform, nebst. bemerkungen \u016dber das seitenorgan der parasitischen nematoden","volume":"59","author":"Steiner G.","year":"1923","unstructured":"G. Steiner, Aplectana krauss\u00ebi n. sp., eine in der blattwespe lyda sp. parasitierende nematodenform, nebst. bemerkungen \u016dber das seitenorgan der parasitischen nematoden. Zentrulblutt jiir Bakteriologie Parasitenkunde, Injectionskrankheiten und Hygiene Abteilung 59, 14\u201318 (1923).","journal-title":"Zentrulblutt jiir Bakteriologie Parasitenkunde, Injectionskrankheiten und Hygiene Abteilung"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_69_2","first-page":"249","article-title":"A new bacterium, Achromobacter nematophilus sp. nov. (Achromobacteriaceae: Eubacteriales) associated with a nematode","volume":"15","author":"Poinar G. O.","year":"1965","unstructured":"G. O. Poinar Jr., G. Thomas, A new bacterium, Achromobacter nematophilus sp. nov. (Achromobacteriaceae: Eubacteriales) associated with a nematode. Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol. 15, 249\u2013254 (1965).","journal-title":"Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_70_2","unstructured":"E. Shokoohi Plant Nematology with Emphasis on Plant-Parasitic Nematodes (Danesh Negar Publishing 2019)."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_71_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"P. Lambert Capillary Forces in Microassembly: Modeling Simulation Experiments and Case Study (Springer Science and Business Media 2007).","DOI":"10.1007\/978-0-387-71089-1"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_72_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1242\/jeb.02381"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_73_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s41598-022-11369-4"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_74_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.0604290103"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_75_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/424509a"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_76_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1242\/jeb.198.9.1931"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_77_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jbiomech.2003.11.024"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_78_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1126\/science.abe5753"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_79_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1086\/386347"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_80_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1242\/jeb.188.1.131"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_81_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/0278364914541301"}],"container-title":["Science Robotics"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.science.org\/doi\/pdf\/10.1126\/scirobotics.adq3121","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"syndication"},{"URL":"https:\/\/www.science.org\/doi\/pdf\/10.1126\/scirobotics.adq3121","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,23]],"date-time":"2025-04-23T13:58:35Z","timestamp":1745416715000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.science.org\/doi\/10.1126\/scirobotics.adq3121"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,23]]},"references-count":80,"journal-issue":{"issue":"101","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,23]]}},"alternative-id":["10.1126\/scirobotics.adq3121"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1126\/scirobotics.adq3121","relation":{"has-preprint":[{"id-type":"doi","id":"10.1101\/2024.06.07.598012","asserted-by":"object"}]},"ISSN":["2470-9476"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2470-9476","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,23]]},"assertion":[{"value":"2024-06-07","order":0,"name":"received","label":"Received","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}},{"value":"2025-03-25","order":2,"name":"accepted","label":"Accepted","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}},{"value":"2025-04-23","order":3,"name":"published","label":"Published","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}}],"article-number":"eadq3121"}}