Naked Science Forum

Life Sciences => Plant Sciences, Zoology & Evolution => Topic started by: pavlovs dog on 17/04/2007 22:03:19

Title: How do spiders make silk?
Post by: pavlovs dog on 17/04/2007 22:03:19

Hi all
Are there any new developments that anyones heard of concerning the research going into how spiders make their silks?
I mean, it's pretty amazing how nature is so ahead of humans, and how this super thin, super light material is so strong. Would'nt it be amazing if humans could find out exactly how the silk from a spider is made so strong...

Look forward to hearing from y'all

from the dog himself...is that a bell?


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Title: How do spiders make silk?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 31/01/2009 07:44:26

Quote

Vollrath studied the garden cross spider, Araneus diadematus. In particular, he examined a duct through which the silk flows before exiting the spider. Before entering the duct, the silk consists of liquid proteins. In the duct specialized cells apparently draw water away from the silk proteins. Hydrogen atoms taken from the water are pumped into another part of the duct, creating an acid bath. When the silk proteins make contact with the acid, they fold and form bridges with one another, hardening the silk.

Vollrath's discovery might help chemists produce spider silk on an industrial scale. Biologists have already cloned several of the genes that code for spider-silk proteins and may soon be able to induce bacteria implanted with such genes to produce raw liquid silk. "Spider silk is stronger and more elastic than Kevlar, and Kevlar is the strongest man-made fiber," he says. But unlike Kevlar--a plastic used to fill bulletproof vests--spider silk is easily recycled. "When you're done with your shirt, you could eat it," he says, "just as the spider eats its own web."

http://discovermagazine.com/1998/oct/howspidersmaketh1531