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TIL a geneticist at Utah State University has created “spider-goats.” He took the gene that encodes dragline silk from an orb-weaver spider and placed it among the DNA that prompts milk production in a goat’s udders. The silk produced is stronger than Kevlar and is suitable for ligament repairs.

Read more theguardian.com

via reddit.com

0dvEj TIL following the destruction of the Iberian city of Illiturgis by Publius Cornelius Scipio in 206 BC, the people from the neighbouring city of Astapa–knowing they faced a similar fate, decided to burn the city with all of its treasures and then kill themselves.
4XpWJ TIL that the idea of wooden stakes to kill vampires actually came from the use of wooden stakes to pin the dead down so they couldn’t escape the coffin. A measure taken during the New England vampire panic among other places. Though staked in the chest it had nothing to do with piercing the heart.
WkR08 TIL: In July 2011, a survey found that Flash Player had 99% market penetration in desktop browsers in "mature markets", while Shockwave Player claimed only 41% in these markets
16AdV TIL that neuroplasticity, also known as neural plasticity, or brain plasticity, is the ability of neural networks in the brain to change through growth and reorganization. Learning a new skill and learning new information can change neuron pathways and rewire the brain to function in new ways.
RPG9 TIL Sears was sued for stealing an invention when they suddenly stopped ordering it… and released their own Craftsmen version