Wikipedia:Today's featured article/requests/Rotating locomotion in living systems

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Rotating locomotion in living systems[edit]

{{subst:TFAR top|passed=yes|date=November 22, 2017|monthyear=September 2017}}

A toy animal with wheels, from Pre-Columbian Mexico

Rotating locomotion in living systems – the use of wheels and propellers by organisms – has long been pondered among biologists and writers of speculative fiction. Rolling and wheeled creatures have appeared in the legends of a number of cultures. While other human technologies, like wings and lenses, have common analogues in the natural world, and several species are able to roll, true wheels – structures that propel by rotating relative to a fixed body – are represented only by bacterial flagella. This marked lack of biological wheels is attributed to two main factors: limitations of evolutionary and developmental biology, and disadvantages of wheels, when compared with limbs, in many natural environments. Wheels, beyond the molecular scale, may not be within the reach of natural evolution, they may be infeasible to grow and maintain with biological processes, and they are often less efficient, less versatile, and less capable of surmounting obstacles than limbs. (Full article...)

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  • Main editors: Swpb
  • Promoted: September 25, 2017
  • Reasons for nomination: This would be by first TFA, and is also my first FA. I think this is a pretty unique topic with broad interest, that segues into several interesting topics in biology and mechanics.
  • Support as nominator. —swpbT go beyond 17:34, 25 September 2017 (UTC)[reply]
  • Support. What an absolutely fascinating and unique article. Looking forward to seeing this one on the main page. Freikorp (talk) 13:45, 27 September 2017 (UTC)[reply]
  • Support: I agree with Freikorp in that this is a very interesting and unique article. It would definitely bring diversity to the front page. Aoba47 (talk) 17:31, 27 September 2017 (UTC)[reply]
  • Support: Unique. Edwininlondon (talk) 19:01, 20 October 2017 (UTC){{subst:TFAR bottom|passed=yes}}[reply]
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