Back to today’s briefing

Story perspectives

Sawfly Ovipositor Inspires Precision Surgical Tool Innovation

10/7/2025

46 6

Summary

Story summary

Heriot-Watt University researchers show that female sawflies' ovipositor acts as a biological reciprocating saw.
It cuts soft plant tissue while sparing vital structures, via tooth geometry and evolution-refined material interaction.
Team scaled the mechanism 400 times and tested it on materials simulating human tissue.
Findings suggest advances in surgical tools to improve precision in operations, published in Bioinspiration and Biomimetics.

1 of 1

Story summary

Heriot-Watt University researchers show that female sawflies' ovipositor acts as a biological reciprocating saw.
It cuts soft plant tissue while sparing vital structures, via tooth geometry and evolution-refined material interaction.
Team scaled the mechanism 400 times and tested it on materials simulating human tissue.
Findings suggest advances in surgical tools to improve precision in operations, published in Bioinspiration and Biomimetics.