Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Spider silk structure: crystalline beta-sheets separated by amorphous linkages. Silks have a hierarchical structure. The primary structure is the amino acid sequence of its proteins (), mainly consisting of highly repetitive glycine and alanine blocks, [4] [5] which is why silks are often referred to as a block co-polymer.
The mussel Pinna nobilis creates silk to bond itself to rocks. It is used to make sea silk. Spiders make spider silk for various purposes such as weaving their webs, protecting their eggs or as a safety line. The amphipod Peramphithoe femorata uses silk to make a nest out of kelp blades. Another amphipod, Crassicorophium bonellii, use silk to ...
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 spider silk has a greater tensile strength than steel, and the material is even strong enough to stop a bullet. In terms of everyday usage, spider silk could be a huge game changer when it ...
Silk proteins present in other spider silk types are also occasionally referred to as spidroin. These include tubuliform silk protein (TuSP), flagelliform silk protein (Flag; O44358 - Q9NHW4 - O44359 ), minor ampullate silk proteins (MiSp; K4MTL7 ), aciniform silk protein (AcSP), pyriform silk protein (PySp) and aggregate silk glue (ASG2/AgSp).
Silkhenge structures are a means of spider reproduction used by one or more currently-unknown species of spider. It typically consists of a central " spire " constructed of spider silk , containing one to two eggs, surrounded by a sort of fence of silk in a circle.
More specifically, the male uses his silk to immobilize the female's legs I and II while he holds her legs III and IV. [9] Prior to mating, the male follows the female, periodically releasing his dragline (a line of spider silk). Slowly approaching the female from behind, the male traces the female's path until he reaches the female's hind legs.
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.