HOW SPIDERS SURVIVE IN THE SNOW

-


                                     


In his study of crab spiders, German researchers Peter Jaeger of Mainz University; has identified 50 new varieties which flourish in the snow and ice of the Himalayas, at altitudes of up to 3,800 meters [12,500 feet].

Though they can be up to four cm [1.6 inches] in size, the giant crab spiders pose absolutely no threat to humans. They lurk in crevices in the rocks or under tree bark and feed on insects, which they are able to locate easily because of their sensitive hearing.

But why do these spiders not freeze in winter? Unlike their relatives in warmer climates, the Himalayan species are equipped with a “biological antifreeze, says Jaeger.

They store highly-concentrated alcohols in their body fluids and this enables them to survive temperatures below freezing.”

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

MYSTERIES BEHIND COLOR

-
      I understand how scarlet can differ from crimson because I know that the smell of an orange is not the smell of a grapefruit. I can also conceive that color have shades and guess what shades are. In smell and taste there are varieties not broad enough to be fundamental; so I call them shades…..The force of   association drives me to say that white is exalted and pure, green is exuberant, red is suggests love or shame or strength. Without the color or its equivalent, life to me would be dark, barren, a vast blackness.      Thus through an inner law of completeness my thoughts are not permitted to remain colorless. It strains my mind to separate color and sound from objects. Since my education began I have always had things described to me with their colors and sounds, by one with keen senses and a fine feeling for the significant. Therefore, I habitually think of things as colored and resonant. Habit accounts for part. The soul sense account for another part. The brain w
Read more

BEST FOR YOUR HEALTH; UP OR DOWN THE HILL?

-
                                    Does it make any health difference whether you exercise by hiking up or down a steep incline? Researchers say that in some ways it might.   Taking the stairs regularly is a simple and practical means to improving health. Researchers asked 69 sedentary employees to use the stairs at their place of work instead of the elevators. After 12 weeks, the workers aerobic capacity had increased by 8.6 percent, which gave them a 15 percent reduction in all-cause mortality risk. The workers also saw significant improvement in their blood pressure, cholesterol, weight, fat mass, and waist circumference. A study conducted on a mountain in the Alps where for two months 45 volunteers hiked up the 30-degree slope and rode a cable car back down. Then, for two months more, they did the opposite. While hiking in either direction helped lower bad cholesterol, the study suggested that hiking uphill was more effective for lowering levels of fats cal
Read more

A NEW WAY OF LIFE

-
                                                        The world today is faced with the overwhelming problem of the MATERIALISTIC LIFE. So many people are concerned that their lives have no purpose or direction in them. Scientific discoveries over the past few years have done little to ease the burden of millions whose lives are far from what they should be. The cause of the suffering and pain pervading human life today is its total absorption in the material way of life. The soul of man is pushed into the background as if it did not exist.       This absorption with life as it is today has brought nothing but despair and disappointment. Those who have pursued the material way of life to its highest point have found it empty and wanting. They have come to realize that life has a deeper meaning, and the spirits and hearts of men have cried out for a release from the burden which they have placed upon themselves.   What the world needs now is a new way of life which will le
Read more