Sunday, 6 July 2014

Why the Spider Does Not Get Trapped in its Web

The spider walking on straight threads
Wikimedia Commons by John Allan

The spider makes a web from the sap which comes out of its glands.

These special glands are located in the spinneret organ located in the underside or rear of the abdomen of the spider or the caterpillar.

A spider has two or three spinnerets. 

The spinneret is the silk spinning organ from where the spider ejects a liquid through long ducts leading to very small or microscopic spigots.

The spiders have two or three spinnerets.

The liquid coming out of the spinnerets gets hardened outside the body of the spider and gets transformed into a strong fiber.

These fibers are used to form the web. 

The web has two types of fibrous elements. 

The dry fiber makes the frame of the web. The spokes or cross lines of the web are made of a sticky fiber which traps the insects. 

The spider walks over the dry fibrous frame to reach the trapped insect and that is why the spider does not get trapped in its own web.

On the other hand the body of the spider is naturally coated with an oily layer which minimizes its chances of getting trapped in its own web.

Sunday, 8 June 2014

The Ban on Obscenity in China

The Chinese Monk
Wikimedia Commons by Shillika 
Funny Logic of India

The obscenity and nudity is fast increasing on Indian cyber space.  But the people in general and the government in particular are still indifferent towards the gravity of the situation. Those who resist are termed as orthodox puritans.

The experts and legal fraternity who often quote the scientific researches on every occasion are silent on the scientific effects of porn sites on the teenagers and crime rate. It is changing the psyche of the young generation on one hand and increasing the sex related diseases on the other. The family relations and the institution of marriage is fast crumbling.

It is being accepted as a compulsion and helplessness to control the content on cyber space. The Indian government replied in the Supreme Court that it is not possible to block all the porn sites on internet and the ban would be counterproductive as the incriminating material would still be available. It is a funny logic and a pathetic surrender of Indian government.

On the other hand the government of China has started a crusade against obscenity and has banned more than 425 porn sites and has proved that the cyber space could be controlled. After banning more than 5000 porn accounts, blogs etc. on social networking sites, about 9000 ads and 300,000 porn pictures have been removed from the internet in China. They have established a cell where the people register their complaints.

Some people term this ban as an assault on the freedom of expression which could change the information network of the media. While others say that it is possible only in China, where there is no freedom of thought, and India could not go against the democratic norms to damage the democracy.

But it is a fact that the obscenity is never supposed to nourish the democratic values. The limit of freedom of expression lies at a point where it can work for public welfare. This freedom does not mean the freedom to become nude and support the moral deprivation of the coming generations. The level and character of democracy is formed by the character and integrity of the people.

Pornography has become an industry in the world. It instigates and whips up the animal passions of the people and provides them a market. The market supply is not according to the demand, but first an artificial demand is created and then the market works. The scientific researches prove that the dissatisfied, excited and agitated person becomes a consumer without discretion. The pornography inspires the feelings of excitement and dissatisfaction and the person is driven towards several products. The entire industry related to beauty products exploits these feelings of excitement and dissatisfaction.

Despite being a little dictatorial the decision of Chinese government should be welcomed.