The last time you watched a spider drop from the ceiling on a line of silk, it likely descended gracefully on its dragline instead of spiraling uncontrollably, because spider silk has an unusual ability to resist twisting ...
Condensed Matter
Jul 7, 2017
0
163
A recent issue of Interface Focus examined the idea of convergent minds, which pertains to how distantly related species can think about problem solving in very similar ways. The special issue is a multi-disciplinary investigation ...
Plants & Animals
Jul 7, 2017
2
70
Possibly the strongest hybrid silk fibers to date have been created by scientists in Sweden using all-renewable resources. Combining spider silk proteins with nanocellulose from wood, the process offers a low-cost and scalable ...
Nanomaterials
May 18, 2017
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17
The relentless roar of natural gas compressors influences the numbers of insects and spiders nearby, triggering decreases in many types of arthropods sensitive to sounds and vibrations, a collaborative Florida Museum of Natural ...
Ecology
May 9, 2017
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134
Scientists at The University of Western Australia, in collaboration with researchers from The Australian National University, have uncovered the chemical compounds used by a species of spider orchid (Caladenia) to sexually ...
Plants & Animals
May 5, 2017
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258
Spider silks, the stuff of spider webs, are a materials engineer's dream: they can be stronger than steel at a mere fraction of weight, and also can be tougher and more flexible. Spider silks also tend not to provoke the ...
Biotechnology
May 1, 2017
1
261
The male net-casting spider appears to shift his focus by going easy on the eyes as he enters adulthood, says a new study from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Plants & Animals
May 1, 2017
0
25
Spiders build webs, shelters and egg sacs from fine tough silk fibers. To apply these fibers, they must be properly attached to substrates or other threads and must cope with loading in highly-variable directions.
Plants & Animals
Apr 13, 2017
0
4
In the hills of Baja California, Michael Wall and Jim Berrian found a creature that's the stuff of nightmares for most people: a cave spider nearly the size of a tarantula.
Plants & Animals
Apr 9, 2017
0
27
Recent news reports that a man had both his legs amputated after being bitten by a white-tailed spider have again cast this relatively harmless spider in a negative light. Experts have since said amputations may have been ...
Plants & Animals
Apr 7, 2017
0
11
