SNIPPETS 22 JANUARY 2026

Darwin’s Bark Spiders: The Darwin’s bark spider, found in Madagascar, produces the toughest silk ever recorded, stronger than steel and iron + This extreme strength is produced only by large adult females, not by males or juveniles+ Reason: larger bodies + larger webs + ecological demand+ Dragline silk = structural backbone of web+ Tough silk is energy-expensive (high proline content) + Females invest in quality over quantity+ Webs are sparse but strong+ Elasticity is genetically conserved

Reusable rockets: Space industry may exceed $1 trillion by 2030+ Reusable rockets cut launch cost 5–20×+ Human missions cost 3–5× more than satellite launches+ Tsiolkovsky equation → fuel mass dominates rocket design+ Staging removes dead weight mid-flight+ Reusability converts rockets into transport systems+ Rocket reuse limited by material fatigue & refurbishment cost+ ISRO working on RLV & stage recovery

Hooghly River: A major distributary of the Ganga River system in West Bengal+ Formed at Nabadwip by the junction of the Bhagirathi and Jalangi rivers+ The Bhagirathi itself is a distributary of the Ganga, making Hooghly part of the Ganga deltaic system+ Empties into the Bay of Bengal via a wide estuary+ Hosts major infrastructure like the Howrah Bridge and Bally Bridge.

Demographic Winter: It describes a demographic phase characterized by a persistent and structural decline in population growth+ Key indicators include: Birth Rates below the Replacement rate of fertility (2.1), Inverted Population Pyramid (shrinking, aging population with a narrow base of young people and a wider top of older adults)+ China’s population declines for the fourth consecutive year