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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/10/181022150938.htm

Ever wanted to know how spiders spin their strong silky webs? One study thinks they may have found the answer to one of nature’s most pressing questions.

Northwestern University has discovered the mystery behind spider’s web-spinning ability. The researchers at Northwestern came up with their “modified micelles theory” which they believe is the science behind spider web spinning. Researchers studied black widow spiders because of their incredible ability to spin webs out of strong materials.

Researchers had known some of the basic proteins and amino acids that built the spider’s strong webs, but had not been able to reconstruct them in the same way in a lab. Researcher Nathan C Gianneschi said, “What we didn’t understand completely is what goes on at the nanoscale in the silk glands or the spinning duct — the storage, transformation and transportation process involved in proteins becoming fibers.”

The study found out that what scientists were missing was at the “nano” level of the spider’s web spinning ability. The study concluded that spider silk proteins do not start out as simple spherical micelles, as previously thought, but instead as complex, compound micelles.

Gianneschi says this could go a long way in the realm of engineering and construction, “One cannot overstate the potential impact on materials and engineering if we can synthetically replicate this natural process to produce artificial fibers at scale.”

Detailed findings of the research will be published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.

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