Overview
- Researchers at Yamaguchi University report the thoracic spine is about three times more flexible than the lumbar region based on tests of five donated cat spines.
- Analysis of two one‑metre drops found the cats’ front halves completed rotation just before their rears, consistent with sequential front‑then‑rear turning.
- The findings support the tuck‑and‑turn mechanism, in which cats conserve angular momentum through counter‑rotation and by tucking or extending limbs.
- Physicist Greg Gbur, who had prioritized the bend‑and‑twist model, wrote that the new data has led him to give more weight to tuck‑and‑turn.
- The authors acknowledge limits including small sample sizes, short drop heights, and reliance on cadaver spine mechanics rather than broad in‑vivo trials.