Researchers in the UK and China are a step closer to understanding how spiders spin their silk.

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Spider silk is envied by scientists for its strength and elasticity, and over the past decade advances in biotechnology have led to the synthesis of artificial versions.  But how to spin silk as skillfully as a spider has remained a mystery until now.

Artificial spider silk lacks the qualities of that produced by nature.  Zhengzhong Shao, from Fudan University, China, explained that this is because of the process used to spin the silk.  He said that manufacturers need to learn to spin silk in the same way as spiders.  

Shao and his collaborators at the University of Oxford, UK, have studied spiders as they spin and discovered the secrets behind their silk. The team found that the rate and temperature at which the spiders spin their silk are important for producing strong, elastic silk. 

Shao believes that to produce good quality silk, the mechanics of the spinning process are as important as the proteins used to make it. Challenges for the future include optimising the spinning conditions and reducing the manufacturing costs, said Shao. 

Stephen Eichhorn, Senior Lecturer in Biomaterials at the University of Manchester, UK, told Chemical Technology that he hopes that this work will lead to artificial silk 'even better than that produced by the spider.'

Nina Athey-Pollard