PASADENA, Calif.—The twirling seeds of maple trees spin like miniature helicopters as they fall to the ground. Because the seeds descend slowly as they swirl, they can be carried aloft by the wind and ...

Like helicoptering maple seeds, tiny new fliers whirl gracefully as they glide. The miniature aircraft, which can be made as small as a grain of sand, could be dispersed by air over long distances.

Although humans can fly with the help of copious engineering, Mother Nature has already come up with much simpler ways to soar, like the way a maple tree’s spinning seeds scatter by floating on the ...

Around the summertime, you might often see maple seeds—also known as “helicopter” seeds—twirl and dance in the air before floating to the ground. While they’re fun to play with as a kid, adults are ...

COLLEGE PARK, Md.—Maple tree seeds (or samara fruit) and the spiraling pattern in which they glide to the ground have delighted children for ages and perplexed engineers for decades. Now aerospace ...

New Space and Tech Video: Samarai – A Maple Seed-inspired UAV – Uses on Mars? By Keith Cowing April 8, 2013 Filed under Mars, NASA Hack Space, ROV, UAV ...