PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Efficient elastic tissues may hold the secrets to Olympic success

2025-07-08
(Press-News.org) New research into the muscles of world-class athletes and performance artists has revealed that a small number of “general motor skills” raise these experts above regional-level and novice competitors, with interesting implications for competitive sport and musculoskeletal health.

Contrary to the belief that athletic motor skills are highly specific to individual sports or activities, this research has found that previously unexamined fundamental traits are associated with world-class performance across a range of athletic disciplines.

“We discovered that world-class experts across fields minimise inefficient elastic tissue motions compared to regional level athletes and non-experts,” says Dr Praneeth Namburi, a Research Scientist in the MIT.nano Immersion Lab at the Institute for Medical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

These inefficient elastic tissue motions, including physiological tremors, contribute nothing to the net effect of muscles on the movement of body segments, effectively wasting valuable time and energy that the muscles could be using productively.

Using a mix of motion capture, accelerometery and ultrasound imaging with deep learning and optical flow analysis, Dr Namburi and his team simultaneously tracked external body movements and the motion of internal elastic tissue, such as muscles and associated connective tissues, during a simple reaching task performed by world-class athletes and regional-level athletes drawn from diverse disciplines, as well as untrained non-experts.

The researchers were surprised to find that regional-level athletes showed similar body movement inefficiencies to the non-experts but produced better performances by achieving the same amount of body movement with relatively smaller muscle length changes.

“While it may seem intuitive that experts’ muscles move differently from those of intermediates and non-experts, it is less obvious that muscle motions of experts in different disciplines would differ from non-experts in the same way,” says Dr Namburi. “Yet, we find that experts across fields share common characteristics: fewer tremors, reduced transverse muscle motions, and more effective muscle-length changes.”

Dr Namburi became inspired to explore general motor traits after taking up ballroom dance lessons alongside his graduate studies and wanting to explore the underlying motor skills shared by all types of movement. “Highly skilled athletes are re-purposing the elastic mechanisms we all use in everyday activities like walking—they just do it more frequently and reliably than most people,” says Dr Namburi.

“This research could benefit athletes and performance artists in developing sustainable training habits, while also reducing healthcare costs by creating a workforce less susceptible to injuries like back pain,” says Dr Namburi. “For example, it could alert athletes when their movements are less than optimal, helping to reduce injury risk, or it could potentially aid in identifying those with naturally efficient movement—what we often refer to as talent.”

Dr Namburi believes that that the development of motor abilities in modern society is often the product of participation in specific activities, such as swimming, football or ballet. “This approach differs from how we teach reading: we don't simply hand children books; instead, we teach them the alphabet, words, and grammar. Similarly, a deeper understanding of the physiological foundations of general motor abilities would help us create more effective programs for developing movement skills,” he says.

This study provides evidence to suggest that expert levels of these general motor skills can be achieved through personal training. “With only a few minutes of tremor-based biofeedback, intermediate-performing athletes reduced their tremor rate and muscle-interface speed to expert levels—albeit by slowing the movement, showing that these indicators are not strictly fixed,” says Dr Namburi.

However, Dr Namburi advises caution in interpreting these findings, as while reducing these inefficiencies can lead to world-class movement quality, this alone is not sufficient to perform at their level. “Achieving world-class levels of efficiency in elastic tissue motions through training is like sourcing high-quality ingredients for cooking,” adds Dr Namburi. “While premium ingredients are essential for a delicious dish, they must still be used skilfully to create an exceptional meal.”

This research was carried out, in part, using the tools and facilities at the MIT.nano Immersion Lab and is being presented at the Society for Experimental Biology Annual Conference in Antwerp, Belgium on the 8th July 2025.

END


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Does exercise really improve mental health?

2025-07-08
Research often points to exercise as a good way to boost mental health, but a recent study from the University of Georgia suggests that it’s not just physical movement that affects mental health. It’s how, where and why you exercise that makes the difference. “Historically, physical activity research has focused on how long someone exercises for or how many calories were burned,” said Patrick O’Connor, co-author of the study and a professor in the Mary ...

Behind the ballistics of the “explosive” squirting cucumber

2025-07-08
New research into the biomechanics of explosive seed dispersal in squirting cucumbers (Ecballium elaterium) reveals how these plants have adapted a suite of unique traits that help propel their high-speed seeds far and wide. Seed dispersal comes in many forms, and much is known about animal, wind and water-assisted dispersal – but less is known about the self-propelled dispersal mechanisms of plants. One of these is the ballistic dispersal of the squirting cucumber, which uses high-pressure explosions to eject its seeds at ...

Researchers find compound that inhibits cutaneous HPVs

2025-07-08
Highlights: Human papillomaviruses, or HPVs, cause cutaneous and mucosal infections that may lead to cancer. To date, no antiviral treatment options exist for HPVs. Researchers have identified a promising new compound that inhibits cutaneous HPV. In lab studies, the compound inhibited viral replication genes in cutaneous HPVs without damaging host cells. Washington, D.C. — Human papillomaviruses, or HPVs, can cause dangerous infections in the skin and mucous membranes and may lead to cancer. Vaccines that prevent mucosal HPV infections aren’t effective against cutaneous infections, which can cause serious diseases, particularly ...

City of Hope Research Spotlight, April/May 2025

2025-07-08
LOS ANGELES — City of Hope® Research Spotlight offers a glimpse at groundbreaking scientific and clinical discoveries advancing lifesaving cures for patients with cancer, diabetes and other chronic, life-threatening diseases. Each spotlight features research-related news, such as recognitions, collaborations and the latest research defining the future of medical treatment. To learn more about research at City of Hope, one of the largest and most advanced cancer research and treatment organizations in the United States with its National Medical Center named a Top 5 “Best Hospital” in the nation for cancer care by U.S. News & World Report, subscribe to City of ...

The gut microbiota in elderly patients with acute hepatitis E infection

2025-07-08
Background and Aims Gut dysbiosis has been reported in severe liver diseases. However, information on the impact of hepatitis E virus infection on the gut microbiota, and the association between enteric microbiota disturbances and acute hepatitis E (AHE), is limited, particularly in elderly patients with AHE (AHE-elderly). Our objective was to characterize the AHE-specific microbiome in elderly patients and evaluate its association with clinical outcomes. Methods Fecal samples and clinical data were collected from 58 AHE-elderly patients ...

The Three Gorges region of the Yangtze River hits record high temperatures in 2024

2025-07-08
The Three Gorges Region (TGR) of the Yangtze River spans Chongqing Municipality and Hubei Province, serving as a vital corridor connecting western and central China. The climate in the TGR features four distinct seasons with abundant precipitation and synchronized rain–heat periods. The climatic conditions in the TGR directly impact the safety of navigation in the Yangtze River, as well as the basin's agricultural production patterns and clean energy supply, all of which are crucial to regional socioeconomic development and ecological conservation. Therefore, ...

Experts urge evidence-based regulations of 7-OH, not restriction, as new science emerges showing safe use

2025-07-08
A combination of data from the FDA and two independent studies prompted a group of scientists to speak out on conversations surrounding 7-OH and its parent plant, kratom. The science confirms the strong safety profile of 7-OH and slams the door closed on continued efforts by industry competitors to push 7-OH out of the marketplace with public smears, unfounded science, and government overreach.  The Marwood Group recently completed an independent analysis of data from the FDA, CDC and other federal agencies that confirms 7-OH’s strong real-world safety profile. According to the FDA’s Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS), there have ...

Genes for surviving plague in prairie dogs

2025-07-08
A study of the genetic basis of plague immunity in prairie dogs has broad implications for conservation. From white-nose syndrome in bats to avian malaria in Hawaiian birds, introduced pathogens are a major cause of population declines in native species. Many prairie dog populations in North America have been nearly wiped out by sylvatic plague, which is caused by the same bacteria that causes the Black Death in humans: Yersinia pestis. Loren Cassin-Sackett and colleagues studied an outbreak of plague in Boulder County, Colorado in 2006–2009 that hit the site of a long-term prairie dog ecology study. The authors trapped and sampled the ...

New research shows AI chatbots should not replace your therapist

2025-07-08
MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (07/08/2025) — Should AI chatbots replace your therapist? New research says “no.”  The new study exposes the dangerous flaws in using artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots for mental health support. For the first time, the researchers evaluated these AI systems against clinical standards for therapists. The research, recently published and presented at the Association for Computing Machinery Conference on Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency (ACM FAccT), was a multi-disciplinary collaboration including researchers at the Stanford Institute for ...

Pusan National University researchers reveal middle-class families hit hardest by South Korea's cost-of-living crisis

2025-07-08
As prices rose across the globe following the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, many expected the usual pattern, i.e., low-income households bearing the brunt of inflation. But in South Korea, they observed something exactly opposite to the usual scenario. A new study by Dr. Taiwon Ha from Pusan National University, South Korea, available online on 04 June 2025, in the journal Asian-Pacific Economic Literature shows that upper-middle-income households experienced a higher price increase than the poor, who were typically ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

CCNY team discovers potential chemo-induced cognitive changes in cancer survivors

New mRNA-based therapy that shows promise in heart regeneration after heart attack

Extremists use gaming platforms to recruit - study

Nearly 70% of U.S. children in car crashes with a fatality were not using proper child passenger restraints, study finds

Understanding what makes some bladder cancers resistant to chemotherapy

Protecting your beating heart

The key to lowering your water bill may already be at your door

Saliva testing may reveal early signs of diabetes and obesity

4D images show heat shield damage goes below the surface

Hibernator “superpowers” may lie hidden in human DNA

Changes in diet drove physical evolution in early humans

Experts call for science- and evidence-based AI policy

Challenges in governing rapidly emerging marine-climate interventions

Slowdown in protein translation drives aging in the killifish brain

Behavior drives morphological change during primate evolution

Climate interventions to save our oceans need stronger governance, experts warn

Do you want to freeze a cloud? Desert dust might help

Nanodevice uses sound to sculpt light, paving the way for better displays and imaging

Twinkle, twinkle leopard seal: songs below the ice flow like nursery rhymes

Potato evolved from tomato 9 million years ago

MIT researchers show how the brain distinguishes 'things' from 'stuff'

Impact of the MISSION act on quality and outcomes of major cardiovascular procedures among veterans

Not all low-grade prostate cancers are low risk

GLP-1 RAs and risk of nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy in older patients with diabetes

The clinical practice guideline update on adult sinusitis emphasizes patient education, shared decision-making, and evidence-based treatment options

Big data begins to crack the cold case of endometriosis

This artificial sweetener could make cancer treatment less effective

Light-based listening: Researchers develop a low-cost visual microphone

Immunoglobulin replacement therapy shows no reduction in serious infections for patients with CLL

University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus awarded one of the largest clinical trial grants in campus history to lead trauma study

[Press-News.org] Efficient elastic tissues may hold the secrets to Olympic success