A
s a Science Illustrated reader,
you probably already know that
spider webs are made of
different kinds of silks. There’s the thick
support strands, the sticky line to trap
prey, and the ultra-thin lines that
transmit vibrations to the waiting spider,
so she knows when to strike.
So, three types, right? Well, in fact
some species of spiders can generate up
to seven different kinds of silk, each for
its own specific purpose. And anchoring
the whole thing to a plant, or a rock, or
your patio is a unique glue that could
change the way we think of sticking
stuff together.
At Macquarie University in NSW, Dr
Jonas Wolff is working on a three-year
project to discover the secrets of how
spiders glue their silk to anchor points.
He says after extensive analysis,
including using atomic force microscopy,
that the adhesive power of the glue
alone doesn’t account for how strong
each anchor point is. The way the spider
lays the glue down in a certain pattern is
important too.
Dr Wolff says spider silk has intriguing
properties and incredible potential, and if
we can just figure out how the stuff
works, we might be able to synthesise
our own version of it.
Why would we want spider silk?
Because it’s an ultralight, ultrastrong fibre
made of various proteins. You might think
of it as a kind of natural nylon, except it’swhat scientists call
“inert”. That means if
you get little bits of it in
you, your body just ignores
it – unlike, say, asbestos.
Even more importantly, bacteria isn’t
able to grow on spider silk. It’s not that
the silk has antibacterial properties,
more that it just doesn’t give the
bacteria anything to feed off.
This means silk could become
incredibly important in
medicine, especial healing.
Think about it: you slice
open your hand with a steak
knife, rush down to the hospital,
and instead of getting stitches, a weird
robot “spins” a suture and a bandage
over your injury.
Glue from spiders holds the wound
shut, and silk covers the area to keep
out infection.
Dr Wolff is excited by the possibilities
his research could unleash, but he thinks
the most likely first application is to,
sadly, use the spider’s glue against them.“If we can find out how the
glue works, we should be able to
make something that we can coat on a
surface, so the glue cannot stick,” he
says. That’s a billion dollars, right there.
Using their own tech against them
might seem mean, but really all we’d be
doing it making it impossible for a spider
to build a web on top of your front door.
That’s much better than spraying toxic
chemicals everywhere just to kill them!SPIDERS SECRET
RECIPE FOR SUCCESS
TRIVIA ANSWERS 1. Bitcoin 2. Silkworms 3. Smartphones 4. Official native coinage (out of Spanish silver dollars with a hole punched through the middle) 5. None. They all have rings 6. Mother Lode- Essential medicines 8. Cubic zirconia 9. 2.6 seconds (due to the light speedw limit) 10. Canvas Trivia Countdown – Name this disease: Progeria Name this plant: Broccoli Name this spacecraft: Voyager 1
82 | SCIENCE ILLUSTRATEDBIODIVERSITY ARACHNOLOGYA TANGLED WEB
Spiders originally evolved silk to wrap and protect their eggs. While not all spiders build webs, all
species do produce silk and all also wrap their eggs in the suff.
The older the spider’s lineage (ie, the less it has changed over time), the more primitive its silk-
producing systems. Tarantulas – including the Sydney Funnel-Web – are among the most primitive, silk-
wise, and can’t even really make lines. They only make sheets they use to build their nests.
Other spiders have adapted silk for all kinds of elaborate systems, from huge classic-style webs strong
enough to trap birds, to webs that are held in two legs and thrown over prey like a net. Even tiny jumping
spiders – who don’t build webs – nevertheless use silk as drag-lines and tethers, in way that would make
DR JONAS WOLFF / MACQUARIE UNIVERSITY the most extreme parkour expert blanch.
Each species uses glue in a slightly
different way. From simple blobs to
elaborate patterns, depending on what
the spider needs to attach the web to.