Our muscles are amazing structures. With the trigger of a thought, muscle filaments slide past each other and bundles of contracting fibers pull on the bones moving our bodies. The triggered stretching behavior of muscle ...
Materials Science
Jan 31, 2017
0
210
Supple, light and biodegradable but stronger than steel: researchers said Monday they have succeeded in producing synthetic spider silk, one of nature's strongest materials.
Biochemistry
Jan 9, 2017
1
825
Two years ago, a research team led by the University of Oxford revealed that, when plucked like a guitar string, spider silk transmits vibrations across a wide range of frequencies, carrying information about prey, mates ...
Plants & Animals
Sep 6, 2016
1
993
Building up proteins from scratch, rather than piecing together fragments of existing proteins, could make designing new nanomaterials easier.
Biotechnology
Aug 30, 2016
0
9
New discoveries about spider silk could inspire novel materials to manipulate sound and heat in the same way semiconducting circuits manipulate electrons, according to scientists at Rice University, in Europe and in Singapore.
Materials Science
Jul 25, 2016
0
3658
While working to improve a tool that measures the pushes and pulls sensed by proteins in living cells, biophysicists at Johns Hopkins say they've discovered one reason spiders' silk is so elastic: Pieces of the silk's protein ...
Nanomaterials
Feb 15, 2016
0
320
At EPFL, fiber optics specialists have discovered some unique qualities of spider silk when it comes to conducting light and reacting to certain substances.
Materials Science
Jan 13, 2016
1
21
A spider's web is one of the most intricate constructions in nature, but its precious silk has more than one use. Silk threads can be used as draglines, guidelines, anchors, pheromonal trails, nest lining, or even food. And ...
Materials Science
Jul 6, 2015
0
1334
Spiders travel across water like ships, using their legs as sails and their silk as an anchor, according to research published in the open access journal BMC Evolutionary Biology. The study helps explain how spiders are able ...
Plants & Animals
Jul 3, 2015
0
123
After years of research decoding the complex structure and production of spider silk, researchers have now succeeded in producing samples of this exceptionally strong and resilient material in the laboratory. The new development ...
Materials Science
May 28, 2015
0
35
