1,148 results
1,148 results for: Spiders
- Astronomy
Scoping out a stellar nursery
Penetrating a veil of dust, a space-based infrared observatory has recorded the most complete portrait ever taken of a star-forming region in a nearby galaxy.
- Paleontology
Oh, what a sticky web they wove
A look inside a piece of 130-million-year-old amber has revealed a thin filament of spider silk with sticky droplets that look just like those produced by modern spiders.
-
Wasp redesigns web of doomed spider
A wasp larva injects a spider with a web-altering drug, driving the spider to spin a shelter just right for a wasp cocoon.
- Animals
Killer sex, literally
Videotapes of yellow garden spiders show that if a female doesn't murder her mate, he'll expire during sex anyway.
- Chemistry
Secret of strong silk
By controlling the amount of water in their glands, spiders and silkworms prevent their silk proteins from crystallizing prematurely.
-
Spider real estate wars: Wake up early
Big spiders in a colony get prime real estate day after day by spinning webs early.
- Materials Science
Super Fibers: Nanotubes make tough threads
New fibers made from carbon nanotubes and a polymer appear tougher than any other known synthetic or natural material.
-
Hungry spiders tune up web jiggliness
Octonoba spiders tune the sensitivity of their webs according to how hungry they are.
- Animals
Thoroughly Modern Migrants
Butterflies and moths are causing scientists to devise a broader definition of migration and this has raised some old questions in new ways.
- Materials Science
Nice Threads
Once researchers figure out how to spin strong fibers out of carbon nanotubes, real-world applications such as long-distance power-transmission cables, lightweight aircraft materials, and electronic textiles become feasible.
- Materials Science
Spinning Fine Threads: Silkworms coerced to make better silk
The caterpillars that spin commercial silk can make tougher or more elastic threads, depending on how fast they're forced to spin.
- Humans
Science News of the Year 2004
A review of important scientific achievements reported in Science News during the year 2004.
