SPIDERS REMARKABLE

Spiders are pretty remarkable creatures:

There not just great for catching insects or scaring your significant other in the morning, they serve a much greater purpose than this.

So why are spiders so great you ask? 

Well it's because spiders produce a lot of this, webbing, better known as 'spider silk'. 

Spider silk is one of nature’s most extraordinary substances. It is exceptionally flexible, elastic, and lightweight, yet tough, three times as strong as Kevlar and five times as strong as steel! And because it is natural, it is biodegradable and can be produced pollution-free. 

Furthermore, one of the most important qualities of spider silk is its endless versatility. Spider silk, synthetically made, could be used in countless applications with significant commercial impact and improvement to human life.

Close up the spider's process for producing silk looks something like this, gross I know. 

Scientists realize the amazing potential of spider silk, but there's just one problem; spiders are small and don't produce enough of the stuff to make it viable for commercial and industrial use. So, Randy Lewis, a professor of molecular biology at the University of Wyoming has put together a team to genetically infuse the spider silk gene into goats. Hollywood almost had it right, except, it's not your friendly neighborhood spider man, it's the friendly countryside spider goat that's saving the day.     

The potential for spider silk is pretty limitless, some of the applications being looked at include fabrics, parachutes, bullet proof vests, nets, airbags, seat belts, textiles, and ropes just to name a few. 

Hard to believe such a tiny, and ugly thing could be the source of so much innovation.

So, the next time you see a spider think twice about killing it, and show a little appreciation. I mean it did give you a shirt of it's back.