It’s no secret that spider webs are sticky. Their silk threads are tougher than Kevlar. Of course, their goal is to catch prey that is often larger than the spider itself. It can trap prey. research subjectThis time, a team of researchers was looking at an innovative approach to handle sticky nanofibers. So they decided to study the technology spiders use to produce silk. It has a silk-spinning organ that binds together. To achieve this, they use a Calamistram construction in the legs that combs the fibers.
Anna-Christine Joel and her team at RWTH Aachen University wondered what would happen if the calamistrams were scraped from the legs of spiders, and whether their structure held the key to the anti-adhesion properties they were studying. I was. The procedure confirmed that the nanofibers stuck to the spider’s legs. So they turned their attention to Calamistram and revealed its secret. They found that the surface was covered with nanofibers, which prevented the nanofibers from coming into contact with the surface of the comb.
These nanostructures were then replicated by laser machining these patterns onto PET foils, which were later coated with gold.As they expected, the resulting combs exhibited anti-adherence properties nearly as effective as those found in spiders. technology project still in development. Still, Joel and the rest of the team believe they can open the door to creating new devices that can handle extremely delicate nanomaterials.
A powerful pain reliever from spider venom
Spiders produce some of nature’s most potent neurotoxic venoms, as deadly arachnids like the black widow spider attest. However, these substances may also be a source of inspiration for a new generation of non-addictive pain relievers. Currently, pain relievers are based on natural opiates such as morphine and synthetic opiates such as fentanyl. I’m here. In trying to find an alternative, chemical biologist Christina Schroeder turned to peptides in the venom of a tarantula called Chinese Her Bird Her Spider (Cyriopagopus schmidti). Huentoxin-IV inhibits sodium channel activation, preventing the flow of sodium ions that trigger pain receptors in the nervous system. The peptide was already known to the scientific community, but Schroeder discovered a way to improve its efficiency and target specific pain receptors. Research is still in its early stages, but Schroeder has already dismissed the notion of spider farms being milked for venom, as the molecules are synthesized in the lab.
sauce: IFS, Science Alert
