The margaret jolly eroticism and exoticsm in representations of the pacificnext time you spot a spider hanging upside down in your apartment, it might actually be snoozing somewhat like humans.
Behavioral ecologist Daniela Rößler made this accidental finding when she first observed jumping spiders dangling in her laboratory in 2020. Rößler and her research team recently publishedtheir findings in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Rößler, a researcher at the University of Konstanz in Germany, originally set out to study predator-prey interactions in spiders. She used baby spiders for her experiment, and opportunistically filmed the animals at night using an infrared camera.
The spiders exhibited something like rapid eye movements (REM), a behavior we and many animals often experience when sleeping. During REM, activities in the body such as heart rate escalate, while the eyes remain closed and move rapidly.
SEE ALSO: A big spider will spread in the U.S. No, it won't 'parachute' down.This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
While watching the spiders, the research team also observed the animals occasionally twitching their limbs, another classic REM behavior. Together, these findings suggest that a dreamy, sleep-like state could exist in spiders. There is already evidence fruit flies sleep. But this is the first time the REM pattern was documented in a jumping spider, said Rößler.
But what looks like sleep to us may or may not be sleep in spiders. Though the research team’s findings very much suggest that spiders do sleep, the evidence isn't yet certain, noted Rößler.
"If we really want to understand the function of sleep, we need to look at it where it happens."
As an extension of this research, Rößler is planning to conduct sleep studies in a field atmosphere as opposed to capturing spiders and studying them in an artificial lab environment. "If we really want to understand the function of sleep, we need to look at it where it happens," she explained.
Yet the lab setting still produced compelling results. It is awell donestudy that has documented twitching in spiders, said Mark Blumberg, a professor at the University of Iowa who researches twitching and REM sleep in rats and human infants. Blumberg was not part of this newly published study.
Want more scienceand tech news delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for Mashable's Top Stories newslettertoday.
Blumberg acknowledged that it's tricky to study sleep in animals, because animals may experience sleep differently than us. "I agree with much of the study. I don't agree with everything about it," Blumberg told Mashable. The nervous system of a spider or fly is very different from that of a rat or a human, and so we cannot expect all features of sleep to be similar in spiders, he emphasized.
Rößler’s study touched on the possibility of spiders dreaming during sleep, thanks to the eye movement patternsthe arachnidsexperienced in REM sleep. During REM sleep, vivid hallucinogenic dreamsoccur in humans. The new study raises the potential of studying the existence of visual dreams in spiders. But in Blumberg's view, the dream connection is too uncertain, and unconvincing.
"I think we're gonna find amazing things in the next couple years."
For Rößler, dreaming in spiders also remains a big question. She hopes to better understandif humans can even fathom how a spider might dream, if they dream at all. "We always have this human bias in trying to understand the world," she said.
There’s still a lot to unearth about sleep in animals. But more insights may be on the way. "I think we're gonna find amazing things in the next couple years," Rößler said.
This is the fattest of the extremely fat bears
Dating the Iliad, and Other News by Sadie Stein
Story Time! by Sadie Stein
Happy Birthday, Victor Hugo by Sadie Stein
Your 'wrong person' texts may be linked to Myanmar warlord
Fitness for Writers, and Other News by Sadie Stein
'This claim is disputed' Twitter meme is here to question your baseless statements
Maisie Williams asks about Bitcoin. Memefest ensues, and Elon Musk joins the party.
Trump signs AI education order to train K
March 5, 1815 by Sadie Stein
Best Bluetooth tracker deal: Save 29% on the Tile by Life360 Essentials bundle
America in Love, and Other News by Sadie Stein
Golden Books by Sadie Stein
Maisie Williams asks about Bitcoin. Memefest ensues, and Elon Musk joins the party.
Google's officially retiring Assistant
PayPal's version of GoFundMe is called Generosity Network
Shakedown: Cossery in Egypt by Mostafa Heddaya
Rudy Giuliani's hair dye streaked down his face in bizarre press conference moment
The 10 Most Anticipated PC Games of 2016
In the Buff: Literary Readings, Pasties, and Jiggling Genitalia by Rae Bryant
Umtiti's sassy postIt'll be harder to grab an Uber in Taipei as harsher crackdowns beginAlphabet, Google's parent, moonshots drone and rural internet projectsTwitter will remove millions of accounts from users' follower numbersFacebook is testing augmented reality ads in the News FeedDaughter immediately regrets showing dad her new knife tattooDan Rather on Trump's media bashing: 'I felt a shudder down my spine'The iPhone's USB Restricted Mode is painfully easy to hackElon Musk's Teslas cost $20,000 more in China after U.S. tariff warMobile ad blocking doubled worldwide last yearHundreds of naked Australians brave the cold for mass nude photoshootElon Musk fires back at reports that miniThis is a mother's incredible reaction when she realises her baby is a boy, not a girlWe are pleased to report John Legend and Chrissy Teigen are big fans of 'The Office'Ellen's '96 'Take This' album is the only relief I have from Trump'Top Gear' season opener fails to fire on all cylindersFacebook given maximum fine by UK watchdog over Cambridge Analytica fiascoDramatic photos show the devastating flooding and landslides in JapanSnapchat is making it easier to find lenses created by other users5 ways to fight Trump's Supreme Court pick, Brett Kavanaugh Twitter shuts down spambots spreading pro Swiss cheese manicures are the holey grail of nail art Trump suggests his supporters could just shoot Clinton if she wins *NSYNC reunites to celebrate JC Chasez's birthday See the exact moment Chad le Clos regretted provoking Michael Phelps Someone stole a van full of Krispy Kreme doughnuts Luke Cage and Iron Fist' are done. Is the Netflix Marvel Apple slams Australian bank 'cartel' in Apple Pay fight Is Apple dropping a major hint with all its iPad event invite designs? Twitter calls out Donald Trump's anonymous sources with #ManyPeopleAreSaying Churros shop lures Pokémon trainers with the 'Pikachurro' Twitter releases election An epic 'Game of Thrones' reunion is coming your way Two of the best athletes in the world can't do a simple chest bump Analysis of Trump on Twitter indicates he writes only the angry tweets Tesla releases less expensive Model 3 The diving pool at the Olympics has mysteriously turned green 'Call of Duty's Blackout mode takes battle royale and perfects it 'Halloween' box office is only behind 'It' for the all Gifts for people who love historical dramas like 'Downton Abbey'
2.4901s , 8286.453125 kb
Copyright © 2025 Powered by 【margaret jolly eroticism and exoticsm in representations of the pacific】,Openness Information Network