Posted on 12/12/2020 9:58:26 AM PST by BenLurkin
Scientists have been sending spiders into space to see how the spider’s web-making ability changes in the microgravity aboard the ISS. As simple as it sounds on the surface to put a spider in space and see how microgravity affects web making, it was challenging to achieve.
On Earth, spiderwebs are asymmetrical, and the center is displaced towards the upper edge. When resting, spiders sit head down because it allows them to move towards freshly caught prey in the direction of gravity. The question was, what would spiders do in the absence of gravity.
What was discovered about how spiders orient themselves in zero gravity was a surprise. Scientists say they wouldn’t have guessed light would’ve played a role in orienting the spiders in space. The lamps inside the cases were attached to the top of the chamber and not on various sides, a coincidence that allowed scientists to discover that light impacts the symmetry of webs in zero gravity.
(Excerpt) Read more at slashgear.com ...
Y'all are welcome to add.
Oh crap. First the bat flu now spider from space. Hey, didn’t David Bowie have a song...............
Spider spider up in space.
Crawling on the spaceman’s face.
Wakes him up in blinding rage.
Shoves it back in to its cage.
I tell you...there’s nothing like spiders in space to take your mind off the destruction of the Republic.
Spider floats about in air
Habit-prone to spin his lair
Finally he learns to swim
And uses light to feed his whim
So where were the spiders, while the fly tried to break our balls
With just the beer light to guide us,
So we bitched about his fans and should we crush his sweet hands?
Nice.
A+
Not sure what they feed the spiders in space. If they don’t have prey, why spin a web in the first place?
Daddy Long Legs, zero G-ses
Iknows he can do as he pleases
finds a Daddy Long Legs mate
gay silk-gland sex in space is great!
There once was a spider in space
Who found it a confusing place
She said with a frown,
“Which is up, which down?”
Her first webs were a true disgrace!🕷🕸
It's the "bread and circuses" of the 21st century.
>>Not sure what they feed the spiders in space. If they don’t have prey, why spin a web in the first place?<<
Per the article, live flies are brought along to feed the spiders. Kept & bred in a separate container, then released into the spiders’ individual environments.
This is probably some 10 you science fair experimental suggestion. How much did NASA spend on this? Are they planning on stocking the ISS with flies? Sheesh! Spiders are adapted to earth, who knew?
You = year old’s
Not sure what they feed the spiders in space.
https://www.slashgear.com/spiders-in-space-orient-themselves-by-light-11650684/
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