This week’s science picture

With Euro 2016 in full swing there is no better time to explore the science of football. Why are some players such as Cristiano Ronaldo naturally gifted whereas others need to work hard in nurturing their skill? Dr. Manning, at the University of Liverpool, published research that suggests football skills may be genetic. The ring to index finger ratio might hold the genetic key. Plyometric training targeting muscle and the nerve fibres controlling it is required to enhance skill, because it enables footballers to switch between concentric contractions that shorten muscles and eccentric contractions that lengthen and hold them under tension. Science is also involved when it comes to scoring goals. Bernoulli’s principle and the Magnus enable a ball with the right amount of power and spin to pass the wall of defenders as it slows into laminar flow before reaching the goal keeper.