Mammals move their limbs by stretching and contracting muscles. Unlike them, spiders move
Professor Daniel Preston and graduate student Fei Yap fromRice University of Texas decided to see if they could manually induce such movements in dead wolf spiders. The scientists named the area of research necrobotics.
The process begins with the euthanasia of the spider, after which a needle is inserted into its prosomal chamber. Then a drop of glue is added to the insertion site to keep the needle in place.
Using a syringe attached to this needle, a small amount of air is supplied into the chamber, as a result of which the legs begin to move.
Photo: Courtesy of the Preston Innovation Laboratory
In tests, the spiders were able to lift over 130% of their own body weight.
According to researchers, one spider is enoughapproximately 1,000 motion/freeze cycles before tissues begin to decompose. There is a possibility that the addition of a polymer coating can increase the service life.
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