Scientists untangle spider web stickiness

Ali Dhinojwala and Vasav Sahni consider themselves materials scientists, not biologists. They study surfaces, friction and adhesion. Nevertheless, they have discovered that understanding how nature makes things stick sometimes ...

Asian spider takes hold in Georgia, sends humans scurrying

A large spider native to East Asia has spun its thick, golden web on power lines, porches and vegetable patches all over north Georgia this year—a proliferation that has driven some unnerved homeowners indoors and prompted ...

Making music from spider webs

Spiders are master builders, expertly weaving strands of silk into intricate 3D webs that serve as the spider's home and hunting ground. If humans could enter the spider's world, they could learn about web construction, arachnid ...

The mathematics of prey detection in spider orb-webs

Spider webs are one of nature's most fascinating manifestations. Many spiders extrude proteinaceous silk to weave sticky webs that ensnare unsuspecting prey who venture into their threads. Despite their elasticity, these ...

Oldest known spider's web found in amber

(PhysOrg.com) -- Pieces of amber containing parts of a spider's web have been found in East Sussex and dated back to the Cretaceous period 140 million years ago, which makes it the oldest spider's web known.

Flies and mosquitoes beware, here comes the slingshot spider

Running into an unseen spiderweb in the woods can be scary enough, but what if you had to worry about a spiderweb—and the spider—being catapulted at you? That's what happens to insects in the Amazon rain forests of Peru, ...

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