Pest Management Professional, April 2012
research update SPIDERS Spiders in Space An Egyptian teen is the zebra spiders ticket to the International Space Station A n 18 year old student is representing the next wave of entomological experts by pushing the zebra spider Salticus scenicus toward the final frontier outer space Amr Mohamed from Alexandria Egypt is one of two global winners of a competition called Space Lab conducted by Lenovo a computer manufacturer Space Adventures a space tourism company and Google Mohameds experiment proposal hinges on the question of whether the zebra spider can learn and adjust A zebra spider unlike most spiders does not spin webs but instead catches its prey by jumping onto it In space however the spider would not be able to hit its target without the curved trajectory of planetary gravity By winning the competition Mohamed is assured his experiment will be conducted aboard the International Space Station When that happens the results could be both evolutionary and revolutionary It would be the first time in history an animal adapts its means of hunting food in a zero gravity environment Because the zebra spider attaches itself to a self made silk lifeline instead of web spinning when it leaps it should be capable of reeling itself in to aim and try again Its success rate will be the foundation of Mohameds experiment The zebra spider experiment currently is being designed at BioServe Space Technologies a research branch of the University of Colorado at Boulder The spider already has its launch to the international space station scheduled It will travel via a Japanese space agency cargo shuttle Source ahramonline at English ahram org mypmp net Pest Management Professional April 2012 49
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