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The average toughness of the fibres is 350 MJ/m 3, and some are up to 520 MJ/m 3, making the silk twice as tough as any other spider silk known. [8] The web of Darwin's bark spider is remarkable in that it is not only the longest spanning web ever observed, but is the largest orb web ever seen, at an area of up to 2.8 square metres (30 sq ft). [2]
The tensile strength listed for steel might be slightly higher – e.g. 1.65 GPa, [24] [25] but spider silk is a much less dense material, so that a given weight of spider silk is five times as strong as the same weight of steel.)
Spidroins are the main proteins in spider silk. Different types of spider silk contain different spidroins, all of which are members of a single protein family. [1] The most-researched type of spidroins are the major ampullate silk proteins (MaSp) used in the construction of dragline silk, the strongest type of spider silk.
The silk is a complex form of protein fiber that starts off as a protein-rich liquid and then dries into solid filaments, thanks to spinnerets, an external portion of spider glands.
It has the tensile strength as high as 1.79 gigapascals (as much as 37%) and the elasticity above 38% exceeding the maximum reported features of the spider silk. [citation needed] It is reported that dragon silk is more flexible than the "Monster Silk" and stronger than the "Big Red, recombinant spider silk designed for increased strength. [1]
Kim Kraig Thompson, a retired lawyer, invented the protein expression platform in 2002, which would become the basis for Kraig Lab's work with spider silk. [3] He founded Kraig Biocraft Laboratories in April 2006 to develop and commercialize spider silks and other high-performance polymers gene and sequences using platform technology in combination with genetic engineering concepts.
Silk, what the spiders make to build their webs, is “energetically important,” Vetter added, so spiders won’t go wasting it during cold months when prey is scarce. They’re also cold ...
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