Bats: Insights from bone microstructure

Bats are the only mammals to have achieved powered flight. Their bones reflect this novel ability among mammals, with long flexible wing bones. Dr. Janna Andronowski of the Memorial University of Newfoundland uses our BMIT beamline to see inside these bones to better understand the blood vessels and bone microstructure that gives bats their unique ability to fly.

By Greg Basky

Bats flying in night sky

Andronowski, Janna M., Mary E. Cole, Tobin L. Hieronymous, Reed A. Davis, Logan R. Usher, and Lisa Noelle Cooper. "Intraskeletal Consistency in Patterns of Vascularity within Bat Limb Bones." The Anatomical Record (2021). https://doi.org/10.1002/ar.24694