Why are birds not hairy when they are old?

Unlike human hair and hair, birds' feathers do not turn salt or white when they get older. The secret of this ability is believed to be the inspiration for the birth of new paints and fabrics, which do not fade with time.

Birds do not suffer from hairiness over time.(Photo: Daily Mail).

The researchers found that instead of using pigments, birds changed the nanostructures of hairs , letting them reflect light in different ways. This allows birds to create complex forms, change structures along a fluff, making it look more colorful.

According to Scientific Reports, researchers used X-ray techniques at the ESRF facility in France to look at the hairs of jays. They discovered that the feathers changed color from ultraviolet to blue, then white. They are made of a porous substance .

Close-up of styrofoam horns make up bird feathers.(Photo: Daily Mail).

Although human hair / hair and nails are also composed of the same upper horn, the jays' hairs possess a different structure. By controlling the size of holes in a sponge-like structure, the team was able to control the color of reflected light.

Larger holes mean a larger light bandwidth is reflected, creating a white color. However, smaller holes mean a lower wavelength of light reflected, resulting in blue.

The structure of a thread of hair can be changed according to the length of the hair, creating many iridescent colors.(Photo: Daily Mail).

Along a thread of hair, this structure can change, allowing hairs to reveal more colors and complex patterns that cannot be observed in human hair. When this structure is still intact throughout the life of the bird, they will never be silenced by age. On the contrary, in human hair, pigments create color for the hair, gradually lose and make the hair turn into salt or white salt.

Dr Adam Washington, a physicist from the University of Sheffield (UK), said: "Research also answers the long conundrum of why green structures are This is because, in order to create green, there is a narrow and very complex wavelength, which is difficult to create through manipulating the porous structures that can be navigated. Therefore, the way to overcome this problem and create the green (camouflage color) of nature is to blend the jag-like blue structure with a yellow pigment that absorbs a portion of the color. blue".

Mr. Washington and his colleagues expected that the discovery could pave the way for the creation of future artificially durable materials and coatings , such as new paints and fabrics that do not suffer. fade or fade over time .