NASA declares Opportunity Mars rover legally dead » « No, I never heard of him before

Spider silk

It’s awesome stuff, as this video explains.

Also recommended if you want to learn more: this book, Spider Silk: Evolution and 400 Million Years of Spinning, Waiting, Snagging, and Mating. There’s so much coolness in spider biology, I’m tempted to offer an elective in the subject…except that I think it might be too narrowly focused for our curriculum, and about half the students would refuse to go anywhere near it.

NASA declares Opportunity Mars rover legally dead » « No, I never heard of him before

Comments

  2. bachfiend says

    I love spiders. They’re my favourite invertebrate, except possibly after bees and octopuses. I wonder if it’s that they’re all venomous? Is that an indication of my preferences? Not that I’m particular keen of snakes.

  3. weylguy says

    Thank you, Dr. Myers, for alerting us to this video. I’ve always been fearful of spiders (still am) but I have a hell of a lot more respect for them, especially after finding out they’ve been here for over a hundred million years.

  6. wzrd1 says

    I admit to both admiration and phobia.
    A white common house spider, hence, just molted, while we were moving, climbed up mom’s nostril, then ventured inside, causing some comedic relieve, which was horror to my tender age.
    Her continuing on, once blowing her nose into the tissue that was perpetually present at her rolled shoulder sleeve called it extinct.

    Personally, not fond of walking into their webs, a few were dense enough to hamper visual capabilities in very, very, very toxic environments.
    Still, they do predate upon various and assorted critters that’d eat my garden before we could enjoy the fruits of my labors.
    My labors, as my wife is disabled.
    Or for some, “chooses to not work”, in Trumpland.

    But, despite severe bilary cirrhosis, entering the terminal phase, I should show a happy face, per POTUS.
    Tonight, I learned that she finally does understand her condition.
    Now, it’s up to me to figure things out out of this mess.
    Something, I’m actually, usually, good at.
    And not hopeful for.
    My competition, the War On Drugs and a generation behind medical system.
    Denying pain relieve on full spinal stenosis, plus equina equina and ignoring “hysterical complaints” of a bilary obstruction for decades.

    Spiders are far nicer than humanity.
    They do what they do to simply survive.
    Humans, not so much at all.