When small red devil spiders colonized the Canary Islands millions of years ago, they began one of the strangest genetic journeys of any creature. Although the Dysdera tilosensis looks very similar to ...

The unusual DNA of a particular type of spider is fascinating scientists, as they think it may hold the key to diverse evolution across the world we live in. Australia’s peacock spider, known for its ...

Researchers funded by the U.S. Navy have used gene-editing technology to make house spiders produce red fluorescent silk. This might seem like a quirky scientific novelty, but the breakthrough is a ...

Rachael has a degree in Zoology from the University of Southampton, and specializes in animal behavior, evolution, palaeontology, and the environment. Rachael has a degree in Zoology from the ...

Spiders’ ability to spin webs may be one consequence of a really big genetic mistake. A close look at the genetics and development of spinnerets — spiders’ silk-making organs — reveals that an early ...

The possibility of editing our genes once seemed more like science fiction than reality. Times have changed with the development of CRISPR-Cas9, a gene-editing tool first used in 2012. Gene editing is ...