Spiders can be found in nearly every earthbound habitat, hanging around on their stunning spider web. With over 40,000 discovered species of spiders in the world, it makes them two orders of magnitude more than only 400 species of primates! They had been a part of this planet since a whopping 380 million years ago. To draw a better perspective, humans and chimpanzees date back to a mere 7 million years.

For some of us, these are beautiful, wondrous creatures of God, and for others, they are an avatar of Satan himself, the sight of which would send them flying to the nearest exit!

Spiders Have Super Powers!

They can leap up to fifty times their body length, have superb eyesight to spot prey amid the jungle clutter, and map their world in three dimensions to strategize a plan of attack.

The Stunning Spider Web

These creatures may send an array of feelings down the physiology of many people, but their magnificence is just as awe-inspiring as the very homes they build for themselves. We regularly see the stunning spider web architectures among trees, bushes, and structures that we traditionally call “cob-webs.”

Spiders are known for their most unique ability to spin silk. This silk is basically protein fibre that shoots out of an opening in their lower abdomen, unlike our conventional spider-man.

“Spider biologists spend many days of their lives studying this butt hole region of the spiders. It’s sometimes called the “business end” of the spider in their terminology. As funny as it may sound, it’s still their bread and butter.

Spiders spin copious amounts of silk in their lives at some point, which is essential if they wish to survive and reproduce. They spin silk for laying safety drag-lines, hatching eggs, catching prey, and for protective retreats.

Beauty Of The Silk

Have you ever come upon an early sun shining off the morning-dew riddled all over the expanse of the stunning spider web? Some have poetically exclaimed that the sight is akin to that of a goddess adorned in celestial diamonds!

Studies prove that spider silk is genuinely one of the staunchest expression that shatters the belief – “beauty is only skin deep.”

Some spiders spin up to eight different kinds of silk. The strength of some of those silks can be compared to steel – ounce per ounce, while some are stretchy as a rubber band. They are also compared to the stickiness and the texture of adhesive, like glues.

On comparing the toughness value during a study, spider silk displayed impressive results. It surpassed materials like Nylon fibre, wool, Kevlar, and carbon fibre. This combination of malleability, strength, and toughness is what keeps the spider silk close to a bio engineer’s heart.

Turning To Nature

Turning to nature for finding new solutions has been the core of human evolution, the fundamentals of which are cradled in the vast field of Biomimicry. Professor Thomas Scheibel, a biochemist from Germany, realized the silk’s potential for biomedical applications.

Spider silk is practically sterile. It can make a perfect constituent for artificial tendons, can serve as a guide for regrowing nerves, and can support tissue growth. On the military end, this silk has terrific anti-ballistic capabilities. Incorporating it into body and equipment armour can make them more ductile and lightweight than any armour available today.

Professor Scheibel had an idea about manufacturing spider silk. But raising spiders in large quantities and harvesting their silk naturally, doesn’t work because spiders are cannibals – they would devour each other!

Since the 1980s, Scheibel has been trying to recreate this miraculous spider silk in the laboratory – using genetic engineering and biotechnology. After twenty long years of trial and error, he was suddenly the first man to recreate this coveted spider silk protein.

He did this via a method of seamless cloning and an arduous process of inserting the spider’s DNA into the genome of a certain bacteria. Voila! The bacteria produced the spider silk protein. From the proteins, they created the first-ever artificial fibre made of natural spider silk, and Thomas Scheibel became the “European Inventor Award winner” in 2018.

Here’s To Ponder

Thomas Scheibel claimed that “if you wanted to stop a Boeing 747 while it was landing, without using its engines or brakes, one thumb’s width of spider silk rope would be enough to stop it right in its tracks!”

A profound message for us all from the bizarre world of Biomimicry – “The next time you glance at a stunning spider web, please, halt, and take a closer look. You’ll be seeing one of nature’s most high-performance materials known to man”!