![]() |
Credit: Pixabay / jgiammatteo |
Spiders have always been spiders, and they show no signs of having evolved from something way back when. Researchers want to know about their webbing, since it is proportionately very strong and they have some interesting ideas to implement. Like the spider has always been a spider, scientists were surprised at the specified complexity of the arachnid's web apparatus.
Although invertebrate zoologists have known the structure of spider-web fibers and the main sequence of amino acids that make up some spider-silk proteins, current research has further uncovered how black widow spiders (Latrodectus) produce their steel-strength silk webs. It’s not a simple process by any means
. . .
The key is in a supramolecular assembly of very tiny units called micelles. The researchers discovered that, even starting out, these micelles were both complex and compound, which was not predicted. They initially thought the black widow spider’s remarkable fibers originated from a random solution. Instead they found “hierarchical nano-assemblies (200 to 500 nanometers in diameter) of proteins stored in the spider’s abdomen.”To read the entire short article, click on "Amazing Design of Black Widow Web Silk".
Looking for a comment area?
You can start your own conversation by using the buttons below!