lamprey
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Studying jellyfish is the key to better underwater crafts
Jellyfish and lamprey have been swimming in the same hypnotic way for millions of years. It has taken a Stanford-lead team of scientists to figure out how they do this so efficiently and the results show our assumptions have been way off this whole time. It turns out these ancient animals don't push against the water behind them to propel forwards but instead suck water towards themselves to maximize distance and exert as little energy as possible. Pockets of low pressure water form in the bends of the animal's body and when water rushes to these areas; it sucks them forward as a result.
