See how silkworms and spiders work their magic
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| Audience/Grade: | College Freshman-Continuing Education |
| Discipline(s): |
Biological Systems and Agricultural Engineering Chemical, Biochemical, Biomolecular Engineering Engineering Mechanics Mechanical Engineering |
| Special Topic(s): | |
| Learning Resource Type: |
Teaching - Lecture/Presentation |
| Media Type: |
WWW |
| Author(s): |
Dana Cruikshank Organization:David Wrght, NSF - National Science Foundation |
| Description: | See how silkworms and spiders work their magic in this video. "Imagine a material that is tougher than Kelvar or steel, yet remarkably flexible. It's something you can easily find in your attic or a lingerie store. It's as instantly recognizable today as it was to our early ancestors, yet we still aren't sure exactly how it's made. The miracle thread in question is natural silk, the ubiquitous fibers made by spiders and silkworms, which has been used throughout history for items ranging from stockings and parachutes to surgical sutures. Today scientists and engineers are creating a number of useful materials based on silk research. But many researchers believe these applications may just be the start of a whole web of useful new products and devices, if only we had a better understanding of just how these small creatures spin their precious thread. In recent years, researchers have worked to gain a better understanding of what silk is and how it's made, with the goal of being able to consistently replicate and enhance its production synthetically. In the July 30 edition of the journal Science, two Tufts University researchers, Fiorenzo G. Omenetto and David L. Kaplan, review the state of silk research, the challenges that remain, and why synthetic silk production is so appealing." |
| Rating: |
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| Related Resources | |
| Keywords: | spiders silk silkworm biomimetics |
| Usage Tip | |
| Use of Resource: |
Could be used to stimulate biomimetic thinking about strong materials. |
| Difficulty: |
Medium |
| Interactivity Level: |
Low |
| Version Info | |
| Publication Date: | July 2010 |
| Platform/Format: |
WWW |
| Cost: |
Free |
| Download URL: | http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_videos.jsp?org=NSF&cntn_id=117415&me |
| Metadata: |
IEEE LOM Record |
| Collection: |
NEEDS
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