Spider silk has an almost limitless range of uses. It has an incredible strength, protein based and can even mimic the strength of kevlar. The work Dr. Amanda Brooks is doing at NDSU with her research team has the potential to change our lives forever.
First off, they get the spider silk (or as JJ would call it – “webbing”) from spiders the old fashioned way. They hold down a spider and carefully extract the thread in a single piece from a sedated spider. Then another. And another. And another. The silk is incredibly small, finer than a human hair – but the potential a single strand produces could lead to the next major breakthrough in countless fields.
Dr. Books works with multiple departments at NDSU. Students researching new engineering techniques see the potential for spider silk as a building material or the Pharmaceutical student who wants to unearth the secret to a new life saving technique. During our discussion, Dr. Brooks mentions that her team has been working on using spider silk and bacteria to create a bubble containing life saving medicine that would only open inside the human body if certain diseases or body triggers are present. Life saving work from a material my grandmother removed from her garage with a broom.
It Takes Two and KFGO listeners get an inside scoop on spiders, spider silk and how the future might be framed around one strand at a time.
