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Spider Weaves a Web in Space



(Video link)

A national education program being carried out right now on the International Space Station involves watching the behavior or animals and insects in microgravity. This video is of Esmerelda, a golden silk orb-weaver spider (Nephila clavipes), weaving a web in her new low-gravity home. Typically, an orb-weaver will spin an asymmetrical web, but researchers have noticed that those spun by the two spiders on the ISS are becoming more circular. In addition, the spiders no longer sit at the tops of their webs facing downwards, and are instead hanging out in all sorts of positions to look out for their captured prey--something that doesn't happen here on Earth.

Read more about the experiment and the oddities in Esmeralda's behavior on New Scientist. Link


Comments (4)

Newest 4
Newest 4 Comments

I remember their ant experiement before space shuttle Columbia blew up in its landing :(:

http://antfarm.yuku.com/forum/viewtopic/id/1800

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/01/0129_030129_spaceants.html

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts107/030117day2/

http://www.redorbit.com/news/video/space/6/sts107_stars_experiments/23181/
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Nasa might want to quit sending spiders into space, I don't think an alien civilization would forgive us if we accidentally inflicted them on another unfortunate planet...
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Never mind micro gravity. I want to study spiders in mega gravity. After a few generations in my centrifuge my arachnid army will become giants weaving silken webs of death. No fair stealing my idea, NASA.
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12 bazillion dollars to launch that thing into space and the best we can get is some black & white out of focus video that looks like it was shot by a 5th grader?

Geeeeeesh NASA, stick to robot probes which are excellent, your manned space program is just plain embarrassing (look we got spiders 200 miles off the surface - yippee).
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It's a neon electrode housing. It is mounted into a hole in a (usually) metal sign. The neon is mounted to the face and the electrode protrudes into this housing making an electrical connection to the neon transformer.
Neatoramabot T-Shirt, M, Ash Grey
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Where you heat a glass container and prove whether frogs jump out when submerged in hot water or not (or which gets burnt first, the frog or your hand)

Schrodinger's Cat: it's a trap, medium, ladies' fit
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It looks like a device for preparing absinthe in a bar... Put the whole thing on a glass of absinthe, place the burning sugar cube in the coil, and pour the ice water over it into the glass below. Pirate Bear M!
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It's an insulated ground connnection for an old motorized axle... likely part of a grain mill, where static electricity could be explosive. The glass insulator works as a bushing, where it can ride on the axle... and the coiled spring maintains contact to the end of the axle for electrical connection. A copper ground line is connected to the nut at the top. I made this up, but it works in my head...

Mosaic Skull, Dark Chocolate, 2XL
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A vintage Edwardian ocular-orb-extractor for use by barbers and physicks for the removal of the eye. This was not done, as one might suppose, for medical necessity, but for aesthetic reasons associated with contemporary fashion trends. The removal of the ocular orb allowed sirs and madams genuine need for a stylish ocular patch. The patches were very in-vogue, but there was disdain for any person donning one for mere stylistic reasons. If one was to sport such eye accessories and be acceptable for refined society, they would necessarily need to extract one, if not both eyes, like a sir.

Metal Neatorama, Black, XL
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Its a Neon spring socket.

Neon tubes are fragile and must be fastened to a sign face. You insert the ends into the sign so they are not visible. Once inside, they are greeted by the copper spring.

Sign Tech here.

Blinded Me with Science in Medium please.
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It is a part of a WAF "Woman's Acceptance Factor" determination set:
It comprises 10 more or less technically looking items of different size and uselessness to be placed by a man in the living room. There are two values to be determined, the number of items required for the first comment (to remove this stuff), and the number of items required to to get into an argument lasting at least 10 minutes...

The average value may indicate how many strange technical devices a wife may accept in the future such as Computers, PS3, beamers or the like

Fuel vs. wallet ladie's fit in M... (in the suggested colour)
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