Spiders

Scientists believe lightweight, ultra-strong and flexible spider silk is now one step closer to commercial use thanks to a deceptively complex 'box' that can spin nature's wonder fiber in a "spontaneous, extremely rapid, and highly reproducible" way.

Spider silk is known to be one of nature's strongest and toughest materials. If everything works out, an alfalfa-produced synthetic version of the stuff will be used in the construction of the Velozzi Hypercar … only 100 of which will be made.

The first drug to prevent heart attack and stroke cell damage is now one step closer to reality, after the K’gari funnel-web spider venom molecule Hi1a got a green light from independent safety studies, and more is learnt about its unique efficacy.

Age-related macular degeneration is a debilitating eyesight loss, that robs nearly 20 million Americans of their independence. What if understanding this incurable condition and creating better therapies for it starts in the eyes of jumping spiders?

According to Japanese robotics firm TMSUK, there's currently a shortage of sewer-inspection workers in that country. The company has therefore set out to streamline the workload for existing workers, by making a sewage-pipe-inspecting robotic spider.

As one of the strongest materials known to science, spider silk regularly finds itself at the center of exciting engineering breakthroughs, but a new study involving a quick chemical bath could see silkworm silk outperform it.

While we've seen a number of robotic grippers inspired by various animals, US scientists have now taken a much more "direct" approach. They've devised a method of using actual dead spiders to delicately grasp small objects.

Last year, we heard how anole lizards are able to breathe underwater from an air bubble on their nose. One of the scientists involved in that study has now documented a spider doing something similar – although the bubble covers its whole body.

Scientists have made another extraordinary discovery concerning spider silk, finding that orb-weaving spiders use their webs as an array to extend their sense of hearing, a finding that could lead to advanced new forms of audio hardware.

Scientists exploring the potential of spider silk in next-generation cancer therapies have found yet another use for the natural material, using it to stabilize and enhance a cancer-killing protein known as the "guardian of the genome."

Adhesives that hold underwater are elusive, but could be useful for marine repairs or tissue healing. Researchers have now developed a new type of adhesive hydrogel that combines the underwater stickiness of mussels with the strength of spider silk.

A new smartphone app is using augmented reality to help reduce a person’s fear of spiders. In a study published in the Journal of Anxiety Disorders the app was found to significantly reduce feelings of fear and disgust after a two-week program.