Oxford Silk Group

Amazing video at the Guardian of silk being harvested from a spider (and lovely accompanying profile of scientist Fritz Vollrath by Tim Adams).

Bioluminescence last night was lovely too. It is understated rather than spectacular, but the moments when you run your fingers through the water and see sparkles coming off them are truly like something from Peter Pan! It is also just incredible being out at night in a kayak on a beautiful secluded bay: it renews my resolve to do more kayaking (and also to get the advanced open-water scuba certification so that I can do a night dive!).

Chysalids!

Amazing Wyndhamesque link via Brent.  All of the pictures are amazing, but the one I've given may be my favorite.

Wonky webs

At the LRB blog, Nick Richardson on a Wellcome exhibit on the history and culture of mind-altering drugs. No pictures at that site of the webs spiders build on drugs, alas, but I am intrigued by the image galleries. Below: a wonderfully grotesque 1881 image of a "morphinomaniac" with abscesses resulting from subcutaneous injection (close your eyes if you are squeamish!)...