With no limbs, how do snakes climb trees and slopes? It seems they can control each scale individually to grip surfaces. Biologists have known for a while that the venetian-blind-like geometry of snakes' scales help stop them sliding backwards. Now Hamid Marvi of the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta and colleagues have found that snakes are much less prone to slipping down a slope when they are awake than when sedated, suggesting they can actively improve their grip.
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