Science & Nature

An Anecdote of a Spider and his Web

A couple of days ago Mark and I saw a largish house spider lurking outside of our flat. He was nestled against the wall leading up to the first floor landing of the building’s entrance. I’m not deathly afraid of the little beasties, but I’m not in love with them either.

So I cajoled Mark into coaxing our new lodger back down into the street outside. Mark gingerly approached the spider with a bit of paper and stretched up towards him. He sort of fell onto the paper and as we started to transport him to this new home, he managed to scuttle away. He sprinted under the wheels of my bike and disappeared into the darkness outside. Or so we thought.

This morning I spotted him a little further down the wall. Having to come face to face with him every time we exited and entered our building was a tad too much for me. So I once again begged Mark to release him into the sunshine outside. This time the transplant was successful.

As Mark placed him onto a seemingly vacant cobweb, a much smaller spider came out of nowhere and attacked. Our spider, being much larger, enveloped him and they became one. I turned away, because I am a bit squeamish but Mark later related that our spider was not the aggressor. He merely started to explore this wild and untamed land only to be attacked for no reason. Obviously the smaller spider felt threatened and this was probably his cobweb. We had interfered with nature, but it’s my sincere belief that our spider would have found that web located just a few feet outside our front door anyway. Therefore my conscience is clear.

Check out the photo of our alpha-spider. What a fine specimen he is!

Mr. Owl

From a very young age, I’ve always been fascinated with the owl. It is a Bird of Prey but looks so approachable and regal. The dichotomy of a Bird of Prey being epitomized in many cartoons and children shows as a cuddly wise old buddy belies its steely hunting skills.

The owl’s wide round face is designed as a sort of satellite dish, allowing it to funnel in noises from great distances and tune its hearing onto possible prey. This same trait enables the owl to catch prey sitting several inches beneath packed snow. It is a creature simply designed to hunt and kill.

The video below encapsulates this fascinating bird in all its glory and at its most magnificent. We find it breathtakingly beautiful and we hope that you are equally impressed.

The “M” (Membrane) Theory and the Beginnings of our Universe

In Jet Li’s 2001 movie, “The One”, we are supposed to believe in the “multiverse”. This is a place where we exist in many other versions. In each universe we live separate parallel lives that are also somewhat connected.

For year’s scientists, in particular, physicists have believed that parallel universes were the stuff of sci-fi movies and nothing more. However recent developments in search for the all-important singular theory related to the beginning of our universe, has led scientists back to the idea of parallel universes.

“M” Theory is based on the formula that our universe is made up of ten dimensions – originally. Scientists tried to make this theory applicable to all aspects of our universe in an attempt to explain the origins of life. Despite all the advances that have been made in exploring and understanding our universe, the all-encompassing equation that will explain the reason we are here has eluded science.

After many attempts to make this theory “work” in explaining the origins of our existence, scientists were left with five versions of the same formula. A far cry from the one single formula needed to explain how our universe came into being. By adding an eleventh dimension to the theory – that of “parallel universes”, the formula became one and brought us one step closer to solving the conundrum of “The Big Bang”.

The eleventh dimension allowed for the theory to work. With more than one universe in existence, interactions between these universes could explain “The Big Bang” and the creation of matter as a result of this experience. Even more exciting is that, once scientist have proven “M” Theory as accurate, they will be able to push our history prior to “The Big Bang” to see the character of Outer Space before our universe came into being.

So once again, science is on the brink of formulating the origins of life and the reason we are here all rolled into one theory. Only time will tell if “M” Theory will transcend all the hype surrounding it. After all this isn’t the movies and once the credits roll up we all go back to our “normal” lives in this “one” universe – supposedly. In the upcoming years, science could change our thinking on parallel universes completely and bring this science fiction off the cinema screens and straight to our front door.

Science & Nature

As science enthusiasts, we want our readers to enjoy all that our universe has to offer. From Black Holes to Barn Owls, our articles will bring you into worlds from varying and unusual perspectives.