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Asked by xX_OldmanBamanaboni_Xx to John, Laura, Luke, Rob, Ruth on 13 Jun 2016.
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Robert Williams answered on 13 Jun 2016:
We already use artificial wings in hang-gliders etc.
Why should we want to change out own bone structure when we have very gifted egineers who can fashion exotic materials such as carbon fibre cloth into machines that can mimc how birds fly.
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Luke Williams answered on 13 Jun 2016:
I don’t think it would actually be possible to change our bone structure even if we wanted to as the needed structure to replicate a bird wouldn’t work with our mass. In theory I guess it could work in a low gravity environment, but would still likely require a specialist suit of some kind to keep our bones from snapping like twigs. As for the how, that would be a level of genetic engineering not currently available or legally possible.
Hang gliders are probably the best bet, as Robert has suggested.
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John Fossey answered on 13 Jun 2016:
Cool idea – but no
If our bones were lighter we’d not have the structural strength to hold our super heavy brains and other organs.In order to have enough muscle to generate lift from our arms (if we had feathers for example) we’d have to have chest muscles sticking out about 1 m.
Power to weight ratio is all wrong.
there is some cool research going on here in Birmingham about bone replacements materials. But this is much more about repairing damaged bones and teeth not growing wings and taking flight.
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Ruth Patchett answered on 14 Jun 2016:
I agree with the others I don’t think I would want to change the density of our bones it’s taken millions of years for them to evolve and actually a lot of what we do just can’t compete with nature (natural enzymes are better than most catalysts we can make for example). I think I’ll just use a hand-glider or something…or keep my feet firmly on the ground!
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Laura Finney answered on 14 Jun 2016:
Have to agree with the others, there is no way now and I’m not sure there will ever be. I’ll stick to squirrel suits and hang gliders 😉
Comments
xX_OldmanBamanaboni_Xx commented on :
Is there a way to make a body suit that allows you to fly? Like rocket boots and metal wings? Or is there no way that we would be able to fly on command like a bird
John commented on :
All is possible, but how probably is the question. May be you should become a scientist and work on making super light and strong materials (graphene?) combined with assistive robotics to get there.
Its not hard to imagine something that has not been done – then apply science (and engineering) to try and overcome it.
You have to decide if it is worth the effort and risk of failure to do so……
Laura commented on :
There is a squirrel suit (also known as a wing suit) you can wear but it requires you to jump off something high and glide down. I believe they can do this for long distances and control the speed by opening or closing the arms but they can’t control going up and down like a bird.
http://adventure.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/trips/americas-best-adventures/wingsuit-flying/