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- Synthesizing Spider Silk
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- Kristin Espeland Gourlay
University of Wyoming scientists are closing in on a way to make artificial spider silk. They?re interested not in catching bugs, but in saving lives. The fibers are as strong as Kevlar, and so flexible they can be stretched to twice their length. Harness those properties, and you could create tough and tiny sutures for eye surgery, lighter-weight bullet-proof vests for the heat of the desert, and springier, stronger ropes for rock climbers. This short feature brings you into the lab with microbiologists and geneticists to learn how.
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Piece Description
University of Wyoming scientists are closing in on a way to make artificial spider silk. They?re interested not in catching bugs, but in saving lives. The fibers are as strong as Kevlar, and so flexible they can be stretched to twice their length. Harness those properties, and you could create tough and tiny sutures for eye surgery, lighter-weight bullet-proof vests for the heat of the desert, and springier, stronger ropes for rock climbers. This short feature brings you into the lab with microbiologists and geneticists to learn how.
Broadcast History
Originally aired May 8, 2007 on Wyoming Public Radio's weekly newsmagazine, "Open Spaces."
Transcript
SPIDER SILK FEATURE - K. Espeland
NARR:
Spider silk is the stuff of dreams. There?s flagelliform silk?the elastic? shock-absorbing fiber woven into a web to capture prey. And there?s dragline silk? the sturdy silk with which a spider can lower itself gently to the ground. In a small lab... next to a whirring incubator?. University of Wyoming molecular biologist randy lewis says these wispy? sticky fibers are stronger than you might think. Much stronger.
AX :15
Lewis_why spider silk: ?Its tensile strength is both of those properties.?
NARR:
That means that it takes as much strength to break spider silk as it does to pierce bullet-proof Kevlar. And that a silk strand can stretch more than half its length. In the world of fibers?those are some tantalizing properties. Unfortunately?spiders don?t take so well to mass production. But if you could harness that strength and fl...
Read the full transcript
Timing and Cues
Suggested host intro: University of Wyoming scientists are closing in on a way to make artificial spider silk. They?re interested not in catching bugs, but in saving lives. That's because the fiber is uncommonly strong and flexible. Harnessing it could bring new hope to the battlefield as well as the operating room. Wyoming Public Radio?s Kristin Espeland reports.
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