At EPFL, fiber optics specialists have discovered some unique qualities of spider silk when it comes to conducting light and reacting to certain substances.
Materials Science
Jan 13, 2016
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21
Using web samples from black widow spiders fed with crickets, researchers at the University of Notre Dame have successfully used DNA samples to identify both the spider and the species of its prey. Such noninvasive sampling ...
Biotechnology
Jan 12, 2016
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14
When you look at a spider web in the garden, one thing is often noticeably absent: the spider. This may be because it is lurking away from the web in a 'retreat', where it can monitor web vibrations through a proxy known ...
Materials Science
Dec 16, 2015
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585
(Phys.org)—A trio of researchers, two from the University of California and one from the University of New South Wales, has found that female peacock spiders prefer a multi-modal manner of courtship from potential mates. ...
Having been attacked, paralysed and implanted with a wasp egg to its belly, a wolf spider carries on with its life fully mobile and active. At least, until it is time for the larva to reach out for its first solid meal at ...
Plants & Animals
Dec 1, 2015
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112
Scientists extracted DNA from spider webs to identify the web's spider architect and the prey that crossed it, according to this proof-of-concept study published November 25, 2015 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Charles ...
Plants & Animals
Nov 25, 2015
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10
Spider webs are notoriously sticky. Although they only take a second to swat down, shaking them off your hands can be an exercise in frustration. But that stubborn tackiness could come in handy when designing smart synthetic ...
Materials Science
Nov 18, 2015
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26
Researchers at the University of California, Riverside might have found a breakthrough in the spider-control field. In a paper published in the Journal of Economic Entomology, the researchers wrote that oil-based pesticides ...
Plants & Animals
Nov 3, 2015
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33
Spooky scenes of fake spiders in giant webs are everywhere this time of year. But despite the Halloween hype, spiders hardly deserve their reputation as dangerous creatures, says NC State University entomologist Matt Bertone.
Plants & Animals
Oct 26, 2015
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238
A taut tug on the line signals the arrival of dinner, and the leggy spider dashes across the web to find a tasty squirming insect. The spider, known as an orb weaver, must perfectly execute this moment, from a lightning-fast ...
Plants & Animals
Oct 26, 2015
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