Energy Explained

Researchers have discovered that tarantulas cling to and climb straight up vertical surfaces by secreting silk from their feet. The study was led by neurobiologist F. Claire Rind of Newcastle University in England. Rind's research team used a fish tank lined with glass slides so they could prove that the webs were spun from spigots on the tarantulas' feet. The researchers found evidence of silk threads in the footprint on the slides. Take a look:



Wired has some photographs here of close-up images of the slides and the bottom of tarantula feet.

The full research paper was published here in the Journal of Experimental Biology.

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