Orb-Weaver spider webs look amazing, but they also are so strong that they inspire materials scientists. One particular spider the Golden Silk Orb Weaver (Nephila clavipes) which lives in southern U.S. and in the tropics makes webs that are so strong they are used by South Sea Islanders for bags and fish nets ( Spiders and Their Kin, 2002, p.65).
Materials scientists cannot make the raw materials of silk with man-made machinery, but have used genetically modified bacteria and goats to manufacture silk proteins. So far, only a spider's silk glands and spinnerets can assemble the world's most resilient biodegradable thread. But engineers recognize the benefits of copying the design features of the spider web architecture as well as the webbing strands.
Spider silk is stronger than steel and tougher than Kevlar pound-for-pound, but the overall web that orb-weavers weave is even stronger than its silk protein. Chemically, silk is a fibrous protein (fibrain), insoluble in water. It comes from spigots of spinnerets in liquid form and hardens immediately, polymerizing as it is pulled out.
In a report published in Nature, researchers wrote, "Spider webs themselves are characterized by a highly organized geometry that optimizes their function." The Nature study authors called spider webs an "optimized" system meaning that the design could not be improved. Did nature optimize spider webs, or did the Creator optimize them.
Of the two origin options on spider webs, only one is an actual person. He is the Masterful Designer. The Lord, the Creator is the Engineer with real thoughts, who is capable of consideration required to create spider webs.
For more information on spiders and their webs go to http://www.AnswersinGenesis.org .
Comments