"Ballistic seed dispersal" is not something you see often in plants – and for good reason, perhaps, when you see just what the affectionately called squirting cucumber is capable of. Shunning external ...

New research into the biomechanics of explosive seed dispersal in squirting cucumbers (Ecballium elaterium) reveals how these plants have adapted a suite of unique traits that help propel their ...

An odd little gourd called the squirting cucumber has an explosive reproductive strategy that has intrigued naturalists since the days of the Roman Empire. Squirting cucumbers blast their seeds over ...

Three summers ago, Kiel University biomechanist Stainslav Gorb, returned to Germany after a vacation in Turkey with a present for Ph.D. student Helen Gorges. "He came back and was like, 'Helen, I ...

(Laughter) Well, there are Persian cucumbers - the itty-bitty ones. And then there's the super long English cucumber, right? SUMMERS: Go on. Go on. CHANG: That's all I got, Juana. SUMMERS: Well, Ailsa ...

Katie has a PhD in maths, specializing in the intersection of dynamical systems and number theory. She reports on topics from maths and history to society and animals. Katie has a PhD in maths, ...

The squirting cucumber doesn't get its name for nothing. And it's why her supervisor, who studies biomechanics, was so excited about them. Gorges searched for the plant on YouTube, and turned up this ...

A small, hairy, toxic version of the cucumbers found in the produce aisle does have an advantage over its more palatable cousins — a feat of... Stand back! This explosive cucumber is bursting with ...