Walking Into Spiderwebs

Walking Into Spider Webs         Spider silk has intrigued many groups ranging from the medical field, to the military, to individual industries. Why would we want to use biotechnology to create our own spider webs? For starters, the fiber is very elastic: during wind gusts, webs can stretch 40% of its original length and return to its natural shape. The elasticity is 30% more than the strongest nylon (the silk will only break at 3-4 times its length). …

…M. Benyus. 2001. Online. Sierra Magazine. URL: http://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/200107/benyus.asp "Synthesizing Spider Silk". Begona Benito. 2002. Online. Trends in Biotechnology. URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6TCW-45H903H-4&_user=918210&_coverDate=05%2F01%2F2002&_rdoc=4&_fmt=full&_orig=browse&_srch=%23toc%235181%232002%23999799994%23300273!&_cdi=5181&_sort=d&_acct=C000047944&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=918210&md5=986269946a77158c3007d158014a04a1#bibl1