How Spiders Spin ‘Silk Dope’ Into Nature’s Toughest Material
By probing its molecular structure, biologists are uncovering how a tangle of unstructured proteins turns into a tough, flexible thread.
By probing its molecular structure, biologists are uncovering how a tangle of unstructured proteins turns into a tough, flexible thread.
The short version
- The post How Spiders Spin ‘Silk Dope’ Into Nature’s Toughest Material first appeared on Quanta Magazine.
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What happened
Click to tell Google to prioritize Quanta and see more of the best coverage of science and math in your search and AI results. A marbled orb weaver spider ( Araneus marmoreus ) builds its web one silk stitch at a time.
Why it matters
A spider, when knocked off a wall, doesn’t fall for long.
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