When spiders spin their webs, they use their hind legs to pull silk threads from their spinnerets. This pulling action doesn't just help the spider release the silk, it's also a crucial step in ...

Stronger than steel and more eco-friendly than plastic, spider silk is an alluring substance for material scientists. 1 However, researchers know little about the proteins that comprise it and how ...

This study is led by Dr. Xingmei Qi and Dr. Sidong Xiong (Soochow University, China) and Dr. Gefei Chen (Karolinska Institutet, Sweden). In this study, the researchers develops an efficient protein ...

It's almost time to dust off the Halloween decorations and adorn the house with all manner of spooky things, including the classic polyester spider webs. Scientists reporting in ACS Nano have made ...

Scanning electron microscopy images of fibers from engineered spider silk. To validate their computational findings, the Northwestern team used spectroscopy techniques to examine how the protein ...

Spider silk has long been admired for its strength and durability, and producing it has been a goal of researchers. They anticipate uses as varied as surgical thread and soft body armor. It hasn't ...

The number of times I have walked into a spider web is pretty comical. At first, I saw them as a nuisance during my forest adventures, but upon a closer look with my macro lens, I began to notice that ...

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CRISPR-Cas9, a technology used to edit the DNA of living organisms, has been exciting scientists for years. They hope to eventually use the tool to cure certain genetic medical conditions, such as ...

(Diane Labombarbe/iStock/Getty Images Plus) While the world drowns in plastic, researchers are on the hunt for practical ...

Silk protein fibers have received wide interest for their mechanical properties, biocompatibility and biodegradability. By understanding their natural assembly and spinning processes, it is possible ...