CANADA: Turns out that cockroaches are able to boost power to their mandibles, allowing them to chew through tougher materials than would otherwise be possible. Researchers at the University of Cambridge came to this conclusion after conducting a study on cockroaches.
Gnawing through tough materials are no problem for cockroaches who turn on mandible boosters that give them super-charged chewing powers, according to researchers from the University of Cambridge.
Cockroaches are already well known for their nearly indestructible nature and ability to thrive in a wide-range of conditions. Studying the cockroaches closely, researchers noticed that they are able to combine fast and slow twitch muscle fibers in their jaws.
The slow twitch muscle fibers have a stronger bite force than the fast twitch fibers. By using these slow twitch fibers, cockroaches are actually able to generate a bite force that is fifty times greater than their own body weight. In relative terms, cockroaches are able to register a bite force about 5 times greater than a human, though obviously since they are much smaller, the actual bite force of a cockroach is much less than that of a human.
The researchers examined cockroach bites in a variety of angles and circumstances. Approximately 300 cockroaches were used for the study. They found that cockroaches were able to use both short and weak bites, along with long and strong bites.
