Flying snakes are able to glide across the air like acrobats. Here’s how they do it.

Humans have been studying so-called flying snakes for a very long time, but it's a recent research paper published in Nature Physics that shows exactly how they are able to pull off these miraculous aerial feats. Their secret? Undulation.

Virginia Tech professor Jake Socha and his research team used high-speed cameras and motion capture techniques (think LOTR's Gollum) to show how the snakes' swimming-like motion in mid-air helps them stay stable and land safely.