Search Results for: Spiders
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1,148 results for: Spiders
- Life
A metal ion bath may make fibers stronger than spider silk
The work is the latest in a decades-long quest to create artificial fibers as strong, lightweight and biodegradable as spider silk.
By Meghan Rosen - Paleontology
This ancient, Lovecraftian apex predator chased and pierced soft prey
Half a billion years ago, Anomalocaris canadensis probably used its bizarre headgear to reach out and snag soft prey with its spiky clutches.
By Nikk Ogasa - Animals
These huntsman spiders do something weird: live together as a big, happy family
Five unusual species of spider moms let youngsters live at home way past the cute waddling baby phase.
By Susan Milius - Animals
These are our favorite animal stories of 2022
Goldfish driving cars, skydiving salamanders and spiders dodging postcoital death are among the critters that most impressed the Science News staff.
- Animals
These male spiders catapult away to avoid being cannibalized after sex
In a leap for survival, male Philoponella prominens spiders leverage hydraulic pressure to extend leg joints and fling themselves off hungry females.
- Animals
A grisly trick helps snow flies survive freezing: self-amputation
When a snow fly’s leg begins to freeze, a quick amputation can prevent ice from spreading, keeping the cold-hardy insect alive.
By Meghan Rosen - Animals
This sea cucumber shoots sticky tubes out of its butt. Its genes hint at how
A new genetics study is providing a wealth of information about silky, sticky tubes, called the Cuvierian organ, that sea cucumbers use to tangle foes.
- Paleontology
Glowing spider fossils may exist thanks to tiny algae’s goo
Analyzing 22-million-year-old spider fossils from France revealed that they were covered in a tarry black substance that fluoresces.
- Animals
Invasive jorō spiders get huge and flashy — if they’re female
Taking the pulse (literally) of female jorō spiders hints that the arachnid might push farther north than a relative that has stayed put in the South.
By Susan Milius - Physics
Static electricity helps parasitic nematodes glom onto victims
The small electric charge generated by a moving insect is enough to affect the trajectory of a parasitic nematode’s leap so it lands right on its host.
- Animals
Insect swarms might generate as much electric charge as storm clouds
Honeybees flying over a sensor measuring atmospheric voltage sparked a look into how insect-induced static electricity might affect the atmosphere.
- Animals
This newfound tarantula is the first known to make its home in bamboo
Bamboo stems provide the spider with ready-made burrows and nests, but the arachnid must rely on other animals or natural forces to gain entry.
By Becki Robins