Are scientists close to making Spider-Man a
reality?
Super strong silk
Spider-Man must have very strong silk to be able to
swing through the skyline.
Scientists want to make super strong silk. Real spider silk is
stronger than steel, but it's hard to get spiders to make enough of
it. Spiders like to eat each other, so it's hard to get them to get
along!
Instead, scientists use silk worms. Silk worms are easy to farm,
but their silk is fragile. To make silk worm silk stronger,
scientists have transplanted genes from spiders into silk
worms.
Spider silk is as strong as
steel
The silk worms make a combination of worm and spider silk, which
is very tough. It could be used in medicine, to make stronger
stitches. It could also be used as a greener substitute for tough
plastics.
Maybe one day scientists will be able to use the silk to swing
through New York, just like Spider-Man!
Climbing up walls
Spider-Man can climb up walls very quickly. Some
spiders have specialised hairs on their feet that help them to
climb walls. That means Spider-Man must have very hairy
palms!
Scientists think that we'll be able to climb walls just like a
spider one day. Some scientists have invented a tape that is 10x
stickier than a spider or gecko foot.
Spider-Man climbs up
skyscrapers
The scientists grew forest of carbon nanotubes - microscopic
pieces of carbon - on a piece of plastic. The carbon nanotubes act
just like the hairs on a spider's foot.
These tiny carbon nanotubes are a kind of microscopic Velcro.
Wearing boots and gloves with this microscopic Velcro would let us
climb up walls and stand upside down on ceilings.
Have a look at the tape holding up a 42 inch TV:
OK, so it's not as impressive as Spider-Man, but scientists have
said that they can make superhero suits if we need them. I need
one, do you?!
Spider sense
Spider-Man is famous for his spider sense. Spiders have
specialised hairs connected to their nervous system. These hairs
help spiders work out quickly what they are touching.
Perhaps Spider-Man has very sensitive hairs that can
detect sound waves - a bit like super-sensitive hearing. This helps
Spider-Man to detect baddies that are far away from
him.
Scientists haven't worked out how to get spider sense naturally.
Instead we rely on technologies like radar, sonar and infra-red
cameras to find what we're looking for.
Main image (c) Nemo's Great
Uncle