CHV Lives On

This might seem facetious given what happened, but I don't mean it that way and I certainly don't mean any disrespect, but why did they want to know that? I'm sure it has practical implications further than just the knowledge that spiders can or can't spin webs in space, but what are they? I'm genuinely interested in this one.

I don't know but it was a Uni study project which took 4 years to plan. Seriously my heart goes out to those uni students as well.

Katy, experiments such as that have many practical applications, only some of which can (or should) probably be understood by the general public. Hundreds of experiments go on with each mission, ranging from weather to health-related issues. Other studies are to simply observe normal activities on Earth under the condition of zero gravity.
Many of those are the experiments used to get publicity, and possibly interest in NASA among children. I mean, what's more exciting to a 6 year old kid, popping water ballons and popcorn in outerspace, or 500 pages of astrophysics work?
Those experiments aren't done soley for publicity, they all have their practical applications, but it is an occasional boost in interest in NASA, and the space program as a whole. That's why its not un-common to have schools and colleges helping with those efforts, as its a mutally beneficial deal.

I just genuinely want to know what this spiders experiment is all about though...

I don't believe their websites list detailed information for every experiment, but here is what I have found regarding the spiders.

Quote:

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A suite of student experiments called STARS yielded the hatching of a fish in an aquatic facility and the successful emergence of a silk moth from its cocoon. STARS contains a half dozen student developed experiments ranging from the study of Australian spiders to the analysis of spaceflights effects on carpenter bees from Liechtenstein.

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From: spaceflight.nasa.gov/spac...07-12.html

Quote:

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The Canadian Space Agency is alsosponsoring three bone-growth experimentson STS-107, and is collaborating with theEuropean Space Agency on two others. TheGerman Space Agency will measure thedevelopment of the gravity-sensing organsof fish in the absence of gravity. Studentsfrom six schools in Australia, China, Israel,Japan, Liechtenstein and the United Stateswill probe the effects of spaceflight on spiders,silkworms, inorganic crystals, fish, bees andants, respectively.

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From: spaceflight.nasa.gov/shut...ts-107.pdf



I can't more specific info regarding this particular experiment though, sorry.

Cheers Jim, that's really interesting.

and didnt they recently come out with a sythetic sowing thread thats for medical use like sowing up cuts but the neat thing is that it is madee out of spider webbing so once your wound heals it desolves into protein and you dont need to pull the thread out.
it was ranked #2 in the best inventions for the year 2002

what!? what was 1st?
spider webs do help wounds though. they clot blood and stop bleeding.

That'd be a very interesting thing to have with the spider webbing/ Would've been really good if it was acutally used for stitching up wounds cuz then IU didn't have to get the thread pulled out when i got stitches on my right knee(leaving a scar) and stitches right above my eye(can't see the scar).-Never underestimate stupid people in large numbers.-

number 1 was something that had to do with stem cell research im not sure what the details were