Library of Questions

This is the Library of Questions

A portable library of questions, discoveries, and answers to be kept in the lab for all to use. Questions will be categorized by subject. There is no limit to the amount of questions and answers that will be included in the archive, once full any questions that are no longer interesting or useful will be eliminated to make way for new ones.

Please take a card and write a question to add to the collection. You may file it in the category you feel it most belongs: Spider, Science, Art.

These questions are based on anything you know, want to know, or has been on you mind. You can write the card with yourself in mind and try to answer it at a later time, or create for one others to respond to.

Front view 

In the lab 

a sample image of the cards

On working with spider silk

Spider silk as a material has been experimented with for some time now. Here is some information I've gathered on one way to start working with it in thread form.

The best kinds of webs in the southern US for silk gathering come from the following spiders;
1) golden orb spider,
2) black and yellow orb spider,
3) crab orb spider,
4) orchard spider

These spiders have webs with a lot of strong material to harvest, and are not venomous.

Their webs will be elevated on trees or shrubs, and should only be harvested if they are abandoned by the spider. An easy way to tell is to gently shake the limb the web is attached to, and make sure that no spider is present (they will come to check their web if they were hiding nearby). 

Collect the web on a small smooth stick or other object and carefully wind it up on the stick in a loose manner. Using tweezers, clean the web of debris and untangle the fibers. Begin twisting the fibers together, overlapping them by three inches to combine lengths. Afterwards, spin the thread by taking two lengths and twisting them into each other, alternating one thread at a time. Fold the finished length in half and double it on itself to make it stronger. 

A recent application produced a tapestry made entirely of Golden Orb Spider silk, and is the only large textile made entirely of natural spider silk. 

http://www.wired.com/2009/09/spider-silk/

Colin Hutton Photography

Macro Photographer Colin Hutton photographs the lab's spider's on occasion. They are shipped to him for the photo sessions and then back to the lab the next day. His photos are excellent for showing off the delicate details of the spiders' bodies and brilliant colors.

Janet Iwasa: How animations can help scientists test a hypothesis

3D animation can bring scientific hypotheses to life. Molecular biologist (and TED Fellow) Janet Iwasa introduces a new open-source animation software designed just for scientists.