How Mammals and Insects Stay Filth-Free and What it Means for Technology (VIDEO)

First Posted: Nov 10, 2015 10:38 AM EST

How do tiny insects and other animals clean themselves? Without this ability, these creatures would soon find themselves unable to properly function. Now, scientists have taken a closer look and have found that hair plays a huge role in keeping creatures filth-free.

In this latest study, the researchers ran calculations to find the true surface area of animals, or the surface area that includes every location where direct can be collected. The hairier an animal is, the larger the creature's true surface area. In fact, it can be 100 times greater than its skin surface area.

"A honeybee's true surface area is the size of a piece of toast," said David Hu, one of the researchers, in a news release. "A cat's is the size of a ping pong table. A sea otter has as much area as a professional hockey rink."

With this surface area comes the challenge of keeping away all the dirt. In this case, the researchers found that animals use a variety of ways to stay clean. Some depend on non-renewable strategies and use their own energy.

"Dogs shake water off their backs, just like a washing machine," said Guillermo Amador, one of the researchers. "Bees use bristled appendages to brush pollen off their eyes and bodies. Fruit flies use hairs on their head and thorax to catapult dust off of them at accelerations of up to 500 times Earth's gravity."

Other animals, though, use more efficient, renewable cleaning tactics. For example, eyelashes protect mammals by minimizing airflow and funneling particles away from eyes. Cicadas have sharp points on their wings that act as pincushions, essentially popping airborne bacteria like water balloons.

Now, researchers are looking at these renewable cleaning tactics and thinking about applying them to technology.

"Understanding how biological systems, like eyelashes, prevent soiling by interacting with the environment can help inspire low-energy solutions for keeping sensitive equipment free from dust and dirt," said Hu. "Drones and other autonomous rovers, including our machines on Mars, are susceptible to failure because of the accumulation of airborne particles."

The findings are published in the Journal of Experimental Biology.