1,179 results
1,179 results for: Spiders
- Animals
Intricate silk helps net-casting spiders ensnare prey in webs
Rufous net-casting spiders can tune the stiffness and elasticity of their webs thanks to loops of silk, scanning electron microscope images reveal.
- Animals
Spider silk-making organs evolved due to a 400-million-year-old genetic oops
An ancient ancestor of spiders and relatives doubled its genome about 400 million years ago, setting the stage for the evolution of spinnerets.
- Animals
These are our favorite animal stories of 2025
From clever cockatoos to vomiting spiders, these cool critters captivated us this year.
- Paleontology
A fossil reveals early relatives of spiders — armed with claws
A Utah fossil shows early relatives of spiders and scorpions already had distinctive front claws 500 million years ago.
- Animals
Regeneration of fins and limbs relies on a shared cellular playbook
The findings strengthen the case that regeneration is an old trait, offering insights into how complex tissues rebuild themselves.
- Animals
This spider’s barf is worse than its bite
Most spider species subdue dinner by injecting venom from their fangs. Feather-legged lace weavers swathe prey in silk, then upchuck a killing brew.
- Physics
Physics theories about the multiverse are stranger than fiction
Cosmology and quantum physics both offer tantalizing possibilities that we inhabit just one reality among many. But testing that idea is challenging.
- Physics
How to levitate objects sans magic
It’s possible to defy gravity using sound waves, magnets or electricity, but today’s methods can’t hoist heavy items high in the sky.
- Tech
Mosquitoes use it to suck blood. Researchers used it to 3-D print
A mosquito proboscis repurposed as a 3-D printing nozzle can print filaments around 20 micrometers wide, half the width of a fine human hair.
- Animals
This caterpillar wears the body parts of insect prey
Dubbed the “bone collector,” this caterpillar found on a Hawaiian island disguises itself while stalking spider webs for trapped insects to eat.
- Plants
This flower smells like injured ants — and flies can’t resist it
A type of Japanese dogbane releases a scent identical to wounded ants’ distress signal, drawing in scavenging flies that unwittingly pollinate it.
- Animals
Female giant rainforest mantises grow up to strike harder than males
Scientists tracked mantis strike force from youth to adulthood, showing females eventually hit far harder than males. Why is a mystery.
