Many-foot dynamics

Subjects Applied physicsBiological physics Access through your institution Buy or subscribe A sea star foot is essentially a viscoelastic disc attached to a stem, which operates as a hydraulic piston. The stem protracts when the foot is to make contact with a surface, after which the secretion of a protein-containing adhesive substance secures temporary attachment. Upon detaching, muscle contractions result in the retraction of the stem.To better understand how sea star feet dynamics relate to mobility, the team focused on the surface adhesion times of the feet of crawling common sea stars (Asterias rubens, pictured). Using a custom-built glass aquarium and a clever imaging setup, they were able to track attachment and detachment events in real time. When a sea star foot touches the aquarium wall, it locally alters the refractive index, so that total internal reflection does not happen — instead, light diffuses into the adjacent medium and illuminates the contact spot. This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution Access options Access through your institution Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription $32.99 / 30 days cancel any time Learn more Subscribe to this journal Receive 12 print issues and online access $259.00 per year only $21.58 per issue Learn more Rent or buy this article Prices vary by article type from$1.95 to$39.95 Learn more Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout Author informationAuthors and AffiliationsNature Physics https://www.nature.com/nphys/Bart VerberckAuthorsBart VerberckView author publicationsSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarCorresponding authorCorrespondence to Bart Verberck.Rights and permissionsReprints and permissionsAbout this articleCite this articleVerberck, B. Many-foot dynamics. Nat. Phys. 22, 188 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-026-03195-6Download citationPublished: 13 February 2026Version of record: 13 February 2026Issue date: February 2026DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-026-03195-6Share this articleAnyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:Get shareable linkSorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.Copy shareable link to clipboard Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative