Emerging from shoes, lying undetected in toilets, waiting patiently in cars and on walls, native wildlife has earned Australia the tag of a country brimming with deadly creatures. Emerging from shoes, lying undetected in toilets, waiting patiently in cars and on walls, native wildlife has earned Australia the tag of a country brimming with deadly creatures. In many cases, this reputation is well-earned,... 

Imagine a cloth that gets stronger after it is damaged. That is what scientists recently discovered when probing the strength of garden spider webs. A research team tested the resistance of a spider web’s supporting radial threads and compared that with the thinner spiral threads. They found that placing a certain amount of pressure on just one thread caused it to suddenly stiffen and distribute...