A University of Houston professor is looking into a serious side of these ultra-cute creatures. Dozens of teeter-tottering penguins are the subjects of a research project investigating balance and locomotion.

“Compared to other terrestrial animals, penguins have an excessive amount of side-to-side, waddling motion,” Max Kurz, UH Health and Human Performance professor said. “If humans waddle too much they fall, but penguins somehow overcome this. They may have an elegant movement strategy for stability that we’re unaware of.”

Kurz believes the penguins have learned to use the waddling motion in a way that makes their movements more efficient, adjusting for the limitations of the size of their legs and their weight.

“We can envision a scenario where elderly may be able to put their walkers or canes down because they’ve learned to make the same adjustments in their walking patterns,” Kurz said. “This research may aid in developing a way to teach those people how to walk more efficiently despite their side-to-side motion, to learn the same kind of stability as the penguin.”

Look at this. Not even one Linux joke!