Like Spiders?
- Thread starter Ten Packs
- Start date
I saw something like this on the news about a year ago...cool. I've also seen a mini version of it (about 2 square feet) in person. That was very cool, so I can just imagine how incredible this thing must be in person.
There were some big spiders when I lived in Victoria. The first time I saw a big brown one it crawled under my door. In a fit of blind panic I killed it with my bike helmet. It was quite the battle. Later I felt guilty about slaying a worthy adversary. After I got used to those massive ugly things I would capture them and toss them off the balcony.
Cool pictures, not a spider fan, but it always amazes me what nature and natures creatures can do.
I wonder if anyone calculated the human equivalent strength of that web. If I remember correctly, spider webs would be immensely strong if they were put into human perspectives.
I wonder if anyone calculated the human equivalent strength of that web. If I remember correctly, spider webs would be immensely strong if they were put into human perspectives.
It seemed like John Lennon released five albums after he died.
The spiders down here can be as big as your head. They can kill too.
The spiders down here can be as big as your head. They can kill too.
They are generally dead for a long time before they realise it...at least the good ones are. :wink:
Boris does his part to keep their numbers down.
8O
That's incredible! I've never seen anything close to that scale. 60 acres covered? I could never walk in that field.
About spider silk: it is indeed incredibly strong and for this reason, man has for years been trying to master the secret to its creation. Imagine harnessing that strength to improve certain structural materials.
Yet, all attempts to recreate its structure have so far been unsuccessful, producing a protein structure that is similar but unstable.
This subject has always interested me, so I decided to just do a quick search and I found a few interesting articles regarding a new technique that is being used in Nexia Biotechnologies based in Montreal. (Mind you, this material dated back to 1999, so it would be interesting to know how far this project has advanced).
http://www.welcome-moldova.com/articles/silk.shtml
When I first read this I pictured spider silk being shot out of a goat's teat...
This article actually describes the process in detail and it is very interesting if you like this scientific stuff.
Also, another interesting fact I remember reading from an old issue of Equinox. It was a letter written by a woman responding to an article about the strength of spider silk and she wanted to point out something else they had overlooked.
When she was younger, she used to play around in her grandparent's basement and whenever she would cut herself on her grandfather's tools, her grandmother would tell her to go back down to the basement and cover the wound with cobwebs. It was never questioned, she just did it and it seemed to help heal the wound quickly without leaving infection.
Years later, she now knows (research has shown) that spider silk actually carries natural fungicides and bactericides that prevent breakdown of the web material. Makes you wonder who was the first person who tried spider webs as a wound dressing.
I was impressed by this anecdote and it just proves that there are many things out there that we have yet to learn about their full potential.
Jovey
That's incredible! I've never seen anything close to that scale. 60 acres covered? I could never walk in that field.
About spider silk: it is indeed incredibly strong and for this reason, man has for years been trying to master the secret to its creation. Imagine harnessing that strength to improve certain structural materials.
Yet, all attempts to recreate its structure have so far been unsuccessful, producing a protein structure that is similar but unstable.
This subject has always interested me, so I decided to just do a quick search and I found a few interesting articles regarding a new technique that is being used in Nexia Biotechnologies based in Montreal. (Mind you, this material dated back to 1999, so it would be interesting to know how far this project has advanced).
http://www.welcome-moldova.com/articles/silk.shtml
When I first read this I pictured spider silk being shot out of a goat's teat...
This article actually describes the process in detail and it is very interesting if you like this scientific stuff.Also, another interesting fact I remember reading from an old issue of Equinox. It was a letter written by a woman responding to an article about the strength of spider silk and she wanted to point out something else they had overlooked.
When she was younger, she used to play around in her grandparent's basement and whenever she would cut herself on her grandfather's tools, her grandmother would tell her to go back down to the basement and cover the wound with cobwebs. It was never questioned, she just did it and it seemed to help heal the wound quickly without leaving infection.
Years later, she now knows (research has shown) that spider silk actually carries natural fungicides and bactericides that prevent breakdown of the web material. Makes you wonder who was the first person who tried spider webs as a wound dressing.
I was impressed by this anecdote and it just proves that there are many things out there that we have yet to learn about their full potential.
Jovey
I've met Walter. We had a mutual friend who has since died. The farm is actually near McBride, about 2.5 hrs drive east from PG.
Personally, I'm an arachnaphobe. I didn't go see it.
Personally, I'm an arachnaphobe. I didn't go see it.