James Nestor, science journalist and author of the book "Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art,” explains how you might be breathing wrong. Plus: learn about the surprising way spiders spin their webs in zero gravity.
James Nestor, science journalist and author of the book "Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art,” explains how you might be breathing wrong. Plus: learn about the surprising way spiders spin their webs in zero gravity.
Spiders in zero g orient their webs with light by Steffie Drucker
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Find epsiode transcript here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/youre-probably-breathing-wrong-w-james-nestor
CODY: Hi! You’re about to get smarter in just a few minutes with Curiosity Daily from curiosity-dot-com. I’m Cody Gough.
ASHLEY: And I’m Ashley Hamer. Today, you’ll learn about how you might be BREATHING WRONG, with science journalist James Nestor. But first, you’ll learn about the surprising way spiders spin their webs in zero gravity.
CODY: Let’s satisfy some curiosity.
There are tons of stringent requirements to become an astronaut, but comfort with insects isn’t usually one of them. That is, except when it came to the crews NASA sent up to ISS in 2008 and 2011. That’s because their cargo contained some special spiders and the flies they feed on.
The spiders went to space to answer a relatively simple question: On Earth, spiders’ webs are slightly asymmetrical, with the center ring near the upper edge. The spiders also sit with their heads facing down, since gravity helps them make a quick drop on any unlucky prey. But what happens when you put them in space, with no gravity?
NASA first attempted this experiment in ’08 with two “arachnauts” from different species. One spider was considered the main specimen while the other was a back-up. Well, the back-up spider apparently got jealous because it broke free and crawled into the main chamber with its companion. The two spiders got in each other’s way and spun jumbled webs. If that weren’t enough, the flies brought along as spider food bred faster than expected. Larvae crawled out of storage to join the party in the experimental chamber and reproduced so rapidly that after a month, you couldn’t even see the spiders.
Scientists got a do-over in 2011 and were determined to get it right. This time they used four spiders from the same species. Two flew to space in separate habitats, and two were kept on Earth under identical conditions — except for, ya know, gravity.
The do-over wasn’t perfect either. Scientists originally planned to use four females, but later realized two were male. But luckily, only one male had gone to space, so it was still an apples-to-apples — or spiders-to-spiders — comparison.
So, the experiment began. The spiders spun their webs, dismantled them, and started again as cameras snapped still pics of the action every five minutes. In the end, the space spiders’ webs were more symmetrical than their terrestrial friends: the center rings were closer to the true center of the web. They didn’t sit with their heads down, either. But here’s the really surprising thing: light made a difference. When the researchers analyzed the nearly 15,000 images, they found that the zero-gravity spiders always faced away from the light above their enclosure when it was on, but sat in a random orientation when it was off. Same goes for the webs they spun: they were more asymmetrical when the light was on. That suggests that when spiders don’t have gravity to orient themselves, they can use a light source as a backup.
It seems weird that spiders would have an adaptation for living without gravity, doesn’t it? The researchers figure that all the movement of spinning a web makes spiders’ gravity sensors go all topsy turvy anyway, so it makes some sense that they’d be able to use something else for orientation when that fails. Whether they can use that adaptation to weave pig-themed messages in their webs? Well, we’ll just have to do another experiment. [CODY: Some experiment]
What if I told you that you could blame snoring, sleep apnea, mouth breathing, and crooked teeth all on the same evolutionary changes? That'd be pretty surprising, wouldn't it? Well, I don't have to tell you that because today's guest is going to do it for me. James Nestor is a science journalist and author of the book "Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art," and our conversation with him was one of the most mind-blowing interviews we've done in a while. The premise of the book is that the act of breathing has untold benefits that have been overlooked by science, and most of us are doing it wrong. But how could we be doing something as simple as breathing all wrong? Here's James to explain.
[CLIP 4:58]
Again, that was James Nestor, a science journalist and author of the book "Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art." You can find a link to pick it up in the show notes. James will be back tomorrow with a few tips on how to breathe better.
Let’s recap the main things we learned today
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CODY: Today’s first story was written by Steffie Drucker, and edited by Ashley Hamer, who’s the managing editor for Curiosity Daily.
ASHLEY: Today’s episode was produced and edited by Cody Gough.]
CODY: Join us again tomorrow to learn something new in just a few minutes.
ASHLEY: And until then, stay curious!