Researchers at Northwestern University and San Diego State University (SDSU) have better unraveled the complex process of how black widow spiders transform proteins into steel-strength fibers. This knowledge promises to aid scientists in creating equally strong synthetic materials. […]

Lake Vistonida in northern Greece has become an arachnophobe's worst nightmare after it was cloaked recently by massive webs spun by hundreds of thousands of small spiders. […]

Long ago, sky watchers linked the brightest stars into patterns reflecting animals, heroes, monsters and even scientific instruments into what is now an official collection of 88 constellations. Now scientists with NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope have devised a set of modern constellations constructed from sources in the gamma-ray sky to celebrate the mission's 10th year of operations. […]

Biological materials from bone to spider-silk and wood are lightweight fibre composites arranged in a complex hierarchical structure, formed by directed self-assembly to demonstrate outstanding mechanical properties. When such bioinspired stiff and lightweight materials are typically developed for applications in aircraft, automobiles and biomedical implants, their manufacture requires energy and labor-intensive fabrication processes. The manufactured materials also exhibit brittle fracture […]

With increased threats to soft targets, security personnel need tools to detect menaces in fast moving, crowded environments. The EU-funded SPIDERS project introduces 'MM-Imager', a safe approach working in real-time which can scan bodies at short distances for hidden objects. […]