SCIENCE science.org 18 FEBRUARY 2022 • VOL 375 ISSUE 6582 733-C
RESEARCHPerspective by Holtgrieve and
Arias). The authors found that
simultaneous consideration
of multiple criteria (sediment
transport, river connectivity,
flow regulation, fish biodiversity,
and greenhouse gas emissions)
is necessary for optimizing the
size and location of dams, and
that the geographical scale of
planning is also key (benefits
from a smaller-scale plan may
be detrimental at the basin
scale). Their computational
method allows the evaluation of
each trade-off individually or all
trade-offs simultaneously and is
broadly applicable in other basin
settings. —AMS
Science, abj4017, this issue p. 753;
see also abn8311, p. 714
BIOMECHANICS
Engineered for
a quick escape
When under attack, lizards
will shed their tails as a way of
escaping the predator while
leaving behind a wiggling decoy
to distract the enemy. The tail
needs to be firmly attached
most of the time, but it must also
have a quick-release mechanism
that won’t engage during normal
activities. Baban et al. devised
a multiscale hierarchical model
for lizard tail attachment (see
the Perspective by Ghatak).
Microscopy data of the broken
surfaces of the tail showed
that the fracture plane consists
of mushroom-shaped pillars
with nanopores at their tops.
These pillars allow for enhanced
adhesion of the tail in tension
and peeling modes but enable
fracture during oscillatory
bending. The authors confirmed
their hypothesis using polymer
micropillars and computational
fracture modeling. —MSL
Science, abh1614, this issue p. 770;
see also abn4949, p. 721