Good Vibrations: Spider Signal Threads Reveal Remote Sensing Design Secrets | Biomimicry | Scoop.it

"When you look at a spider web in the garden, one thing is often noticeably absent: the spider. This may be because it is lurking away from the web in a 'retreat', where it can monitor web vibrations through a proxy known as a signal thread. A new Oxford study published in Journal of the Royal Society Interface looks in more detail at the composition and structure of these signal threads, which spiders can use to tell whether they've caught new prey. [...] 'Learning from nature, signal threads could provide inspiration for the development of new remote sensing technologies."