tag:theconversation.com,2011:/uk/topics/silk-7252/articlesSilk – The Conversation2022-04-13T20:33:36Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1787832022-04-13T20:33:36Z2022-04-13T20:33:36ZCurious Kids: how is fabric made?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/456533/original/file-20220406-22-i84cbj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C6%2C4056%2C2817&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/craftsman-using-old-spinning-wheel-turn-1479103070">Shuttershock</a></span></figcaption></figure><blockquote>
<p><strong>How is fabric made? – Saskia, age 5, Sydney</strong></p>
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<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/curious-kids-36782"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/291898/original/file-20190911-190031-enlxbk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=90&fit=crop&dpr=1" width="100%"></a></p>
<p>Hi Saskia, that’s a great question! </p>
<p>From clothes to curtains, towels and sheets, fabrics are everywhere in our daily lives. You might also hear people call them “textiles”. </p>
<p>People have been making fabric, or textiles, for a very long time. In fact, they’ve been doing it for almost 35,000 years!</p>
<p>Let’s first think about what a fabric is. The dictionary says fabric is a cloth made by knitting or weaving together <em>fibres</em>. </p>
<h2>What is a fibre?</h2>
<p>A fibre is like a strand of hair. It’s very long and thin.</p>
<p>Fibres can come from nature. Some common natural fibres are cotton, silk and wool. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A branch of cotton laid across a wooden table." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/456529/original/file-20220406-20-chr9z5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/456529/original/file-20220406-20-chr9z5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456529/original/file-20220406-20-chr9z5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456529/original/file-20220406-20-chr9z5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456529/original/file-20220406-20-chr9z5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456529/original/file-20220406-20-chr9z5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456529/original/file-20220406-20-chr9z5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Raw cotton as it is found on the branch.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/cotton-plant-buds-over-wooden-background-290823218">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Humans have also found ways to make fibres ourselves in the past 150 years. We can use technology to turn oil into fibres. We can even make special fibres to make your raincoat waterproof, or make a soldier’s vest bullet-proof. </p>
<p>But how can these thin, hair-like fibres be made into something we can wear?</p>
<h2>From fibre to yarn</h2>
<p>First, we need to put the fibres together to make long strings of yarn. This can be tricky because many fibres are quite short, especially natural ones. </p>
<p>A cotton fibre is usually only around 3cm long. That’s shorter than a paper clip. Wool is usually cut from a sheep when it is 7.5cm long – about the length of a crayon. </p>
<p>We twist these shorter fibres together to make a longer yarn. The twisting makes the fibres rub together and grip to each other. This is called <em>yarn spinning</em>. </p>
<h2>Yarn spinning</h2>
<p>The first step of yarn spinning involves taking bundle of fibres, lining them up, them combing them like you comb your hair … or how you might comb a long beard! In fact, when we’ve combed them into a sheet, we call it a “beard”.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Hand holding raw wool spinning it into yarn." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/456524/original/file-20220406-22-19224l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/456524/original/file-20220406-22-19224l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456524/original/file-20220406-22-19224l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456524/original/file-20220406-22-19224l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456524/original/file-20220406-22-19224l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456524/original/file-20220406-22-19224l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456524/original/file-20220406-22-19224l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Before we can make wool into fabric, it needs to be spun into yarn.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/close-hands-woman-demonstrating-traditional-wool-150051644">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
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<p>Next, the sheet is stretched into a long tube. As it stretches, it becomes thinner and thinner. Then we twist it to form a yarn. This delicate sheet of fibres may have been metres wide to begin with, but we twist it into a thin thread. </p>
<p>There are all types of yarn threads. They can be thin, thick, hard, soft, stretchy, or even ones you can’t cut! It all depends on the starting fibre and the machine settings. </p>
<h2>Turning yarn into fabric</h2>
<p>Once we have our yarn, we’re ready to make fabric. There are many ways do this, such as weaving, knitting or felting. </p>
<p><em>Weaving</em> crosses the yarns over and under in a chessboard pattern. <em>Knitting</em> makes loops that pass through each other. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A woman weaves pink and yellow yarns into frabric using wooden poles." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/456530/original/file-20220406-18-icfn7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/456530/original/file-20220406-18-icfn7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456530/original/file-20220406-18-icfn7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456530/original/file-20220406-18-icfn7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456530/original/file-20220406-18-icfn7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456530/original/file-20220406-18-icfn7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456530/original/file-20220406-18-icfn7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Weaving yarn into fabric can be done by hand, or by machine.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/woman-typical-guatemalan-dress-weaving-colored-1897092847">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><em>Felting</em> is when we get wool fibres wet and soapy. We rub the fibres together until they are all tangled up. Then we press the fibres into a flat sheet called felt.</p>
<p>Weaving, knitting and felting can be very slow if you do them by hand! These days we often use machines to speed things up.</p>
<h2>How fabric is made</h2>
<p>So we start with the fibre. Then we spin it into long strings of yarn. Next we weave, knit or felt the yarn into fabric. And that, Saskia, is how we make fabric. </p>
<hr>
<p><em>Hello, curious kids! Have you got a question you’d like an expert to answer? Ask an adult to send your question to curiouskids@theconversation.edu.au</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/178783/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ken Aldren S. Usman receives funding from Deakin University's Post-graduate Research (DUPR) Scholarship Grant.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dylan Hegh receives funding from Australian National Fabrication Facility, IMCRC and Sustainability Victoria</span></em></p>From fibre to fabric. The process of making textiles has been important to humans for almost 35,000 years.Ken Aldren S. Usman, PhD Candidate, Deakin UniversityDylan Hegh, Manager - Circular Economy Initatives and ANFF-Deakin Hub, Deakin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1143882019-04-04T20:15:10Z2019-04-04T20:15:10Z‘Made in Van Phuc’: How place identity can help artisans survive in a globalised world<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266879/original/file-20190401-177171-1ints7z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3264%2C1817&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">An artisan is working with a silk weaving loom in her workshop</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The identity of luxury goods firms is often anchored in the creativity and skill of the artisans behind the objects. A case in point is Hermès, where workers spend years learning to work with precious materials such as <a href="https://theconversation.com/hermes-behind-the-scenes-of-the-frenchluxury-gem-80551">leather and silk</a>. This approach allows such companies to distinguish themselves and compete in a marketplace flooded with goods that cost less but don’t have an identity strongly connected to craft, tradition and place.</p>
<p>This approach isn’t the unique domain of just a few firms, of course – it can be extended to those that are currently less known and in more peripheral places. An eloquent example is the Vietnamese town of Van Phuc, in the Ha Dong (Hanoi) district, which has specialised in silk weaving since the 13th century. Establishing a strong place identity – how meanings attached to a locality can affect locals’ sense of self – was essential for their craftsmen to stand out from the crowd.</p>
<h2>Ancient traditions, “new” competitors</h2>
<p>Located approximately 10km from the centre of Hanoi, Van Phuc is considered the <a href="http://horizon.documentation.ird.fr/exl-doc/pleins_textes/divers12-06/010055064.pdf">oldest and best-known silk-producing village in Vietnam</a>. During our research team’s initial fieldwork, we found that in boutiques where Van Phuc silk products were sold, there were similar goods made in China. Based on the products’ variety and price, distinguishing between the two was relatively easy, and because of the craft methods used by Van Phuc’s artisans, their offerings are often much more expensive than similar ones from China.</p>
<p>In a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JeWtFQNl9Wg&t=102s">report</a> on Van Phuc made by the national television broadcaster of Vietnam, a storekeeper in the village stated:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“I sold a lot of Chinese silk products, compared to Van Phuc ones, because they are cheaper and there are a wide range of products.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>An experienced silk weaving artisan added:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Van Phuc’s silk patterns are not as diverse as Chinese ones because our products are made manually. Therefore our patterns are still very ‘naive’. There is something unmistakable.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>According to a local shop owner and artisan, the price of natural silk is around 1,700,000 dong per kilogram (approximately 73 US dollars) while the price of a kilogram of polyester yarn is about 50,000 to 60,000 dong per kilogram (2 to 3 dollars).</p>
<p>Van Phuc’s products are not only made of natural silk, but they also have traditional patterns created during a sophisticated weaving process. By comparison, foreign-made goods have printed patterns and made by polyester or polyester silk fabrics. The savoir-faire of each creation has been improved for one generation to another, guaranteeing high quality.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266682/original/file-20190331-71006-1u9keu2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266682/original/file-20190331-71006-1u9keu2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266682/original/file-20190331-71006-1u9keu2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=290&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266682/original/file-20190331-71006-1u9keu2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=290&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266682/original/file-20190331-71006-1u9keu2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=290&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266682/original/file-20190331-71006-1u9keu2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=364&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266682/original/file-20190331-71006-1u9keu2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=364&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266682/original/file-20190331-71006-1u9keu2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=364&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Several Van Phuc’s silk products with traditional patterns in a retail shop.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">The authors</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Still, appreciating handmade craft items and being able to pay for them is not easy for all consumers. Despite its strong place identity and the quality and creativity of its products, Van Phuc is at risk of losing ground.</p>
<p>In the village, silk fabrics and other silk products are directly sold at home-based workshops of craftsmen or retail stores, among which some are owned by artisans. Nevertheless, due to urbanisation, more and more craftsmen do not have enough space for silk weaving tools to produce their own products. The traditional silk workshops are at risk of disappearing, to be replaced by imported products from China sold at retail outlets.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266683/original/file-20190331-177181-17tyovx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266683/original/file-20190331-177181-17tyovx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266683/original/file-20190331-177181-17tyovx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=313&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266683/original/file-20190331-177181-17tyovx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=313&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266683/original/file-20190331-177181-17tyovx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=313&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266683/original/file-20190331-177181-17tyovx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266683/original/file-20190331-177181-17tyovx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266683/original/file-20190331-177181-17tyovx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Numerous retail shops in Van Phuc.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">The authors</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>For the moment, Van Phuc silk products still have a stable customer base. They are often bought by <a href="http://ven.vn/van-phucs-silk-targets-world-market-24231.html">foreign tourists</a> who seek out unique Vietnamese products, or by Vietnamese who prefer to use high-quality domestic goods. Residents of Vietnam often go to Van Phuc workshops directly and choose the products they like instead of buying at eye-catching retail outlets in the village.</p>
<h2>Place and identity</h2>
<p>The story of craft products threatened by mass-produced goods is not a new one, and can appear everywhere. How to arrive at a long-term solution is the real question. In the case of Hermès, its identity is tightly linked to a place – it is not just “Hermès”, but <a href="https://theconversation.com/hermes-behind-the-scenes-of-the-french-luxury-gem-80551">“Hermès Paris”.</a> Here, the associated “memories, ideas, feelings, attitudes, values, preferences, meanings, and conceptions of behaviour and experience” play a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0272494483800218">huge role</a>. Indeed, the feeling of belonging to Paris, and French elegance in general, is a significant part of what attract clients to the goods.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/267158/original/file-20190402-177181-179cow3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/267158/original/file-20190402-177181-179cow3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/267158/original/file-20190402-177181-179cow3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/267158/original/file-20190402-177181-179cow3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/267158/original/file-20190402-177181-179cow3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/267158/original/file-20190402-177181-179cow3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/267158/original/file-20190402-177181-179cow3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/267158/original/file-20190402-177181-179cow3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Silk cloth with ‘Vạn Phúc silk’ woven into its edge.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://nld.com.vn/ban-doc/ve-dau-ao-lua-ha-dong-20130324014420373.htm">Thế Anh</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1470593112467268">place branding cannot be carried out for every geographic locality</a> – there’s only one Paris in the world, after all – Van Phuc’s artisans have recently perceived the importance of place identity, and on their products now feature the words “Van Phuc silk” or “Ha Dong silk”. This allows local artisans to distinguish themselves, affirm the high quality of Van Phuc’s traditional silk products, and gain or regain the confidence of Vietnamese consumers. This initial step also allows producers to “shine a light” on local products among numerous foreign ones, in particular after one of the biggest silk brands in Vietnam was found to be selling <a href="https://tuoitrenews.vn/news/business/20171213/vietnams-khaisilk-found-selling-products-with-zero-silk/43126.html">“silk” products with no silk at all</a>.</p>
<p>In the long term, if Van Phuc’s reputation can be expanded to a wider geographic scale – not just domestically but also internationally – their products will surely have a place (identity) in the market.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/114388/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Les auteurs ne travaillent pas, ne conseillent pas, ne possèdent pas de parts, ne reçoivent pas de fonds d'une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n'ont déclaré aucune autre affiliation que leur organisme de recherche.</span></em></p>Many major luxury goods firms have long made place a key part of their identity, and a visit to a traditional silk-weaving centre in Vietnam shows that the approach could work for small firms too.Hung M. Nguyen, Postdoctoral researcher (ORCILAB project, ANR-17-CE10-0013-01), Grenoble École de Management (GEM)Marcos Barros, Associate professor, Grenoble École de Management (GEM)Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/918242018-03-04T19:24:54Z2018-03-04T19:24:54ZCurious Kids: What are spider webs made from and how strong are they?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/207595/original/file-20180222-152366-lmj1mw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Spider silk is a bit like a cross between steel and rubber. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mai Lam/The Conversation NY-BD-CC</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>This is an article from <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/curious-kids-36782">Curious Kids</a>, a series for children. The Conversation is asking kids to send in questions they’d like an expert to answer. All questions are welcome – serious, weird or wacky!</em> </p>
<hr>
<blockquote>
<p><strong>My name is Leo. I am 5 years old and I live in Sydney. My question is: what are spider webs made from and how strong are they? – Leo, 5, Sydney.</strong></p>
</blockquote>
<hr>
<p>Spider webs are made from silk. And silk is made from something scientists call “proteins”.</p>
<p>Proteins are special chemicals made by a living thing - like an animal or a plant. You have lots of them in your body. Proteins usually have a certain job to do.</p>
<p>Some join together to make something bigger. Your hair and your nails are made of proteins (they are both made by a protein called “keratin”).</p>
<p>Insects and spiders make silk in a special part of their body called a gland, and use their legs to pull it out of their bodies. This is called spinning.</p>
<p>Most species of spider have more than one kind of silk gland. Each one has different strength and stretchiness and is used for a specific purpose such as web frame, sticky strands, or covering eggs. The strength and stretchiness of silk depends on the way the spider’s body arranges the silk proteins.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/curious-kids-why-does-rain-only-come-from-grey-clouds-90325">Curious Kids: why does rain only come from grey clouds?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Spiders have evolved to spin very strong silk webs so they can catch insects to eat. This means that long ago, spiders that made stronger webs caught more insects to eat and had more babies, but spiders that made weaker webs caught fewer insects and had fewer babies. </p>
<p>After millions of years of this process, some spiders today make silk that is very strong. We don’t usually notice just how strong they can be because they are amazingly thin. But the strongest silk, such as silk from a golden orb spider, is actually <em>stronger than steel</em>. Even more amazing, it is about 50 times as light. </p>
<p>Actually, spider silk is a bit like a cross between steel and rubber. Even with the help of complicated machines and chemicals, humans still don’t know how to make a material this strong, stretchy, and light. Spiders are still the champions at this.</p>
<h2>Amazing facts about silk</h2>
<p>Most people know that spiders and silkworms make silk, but did you know there are more than 20 different groups of animals that make silk? </p>
<p>Silk-making animals include crickets, silverfish, glow-worms, ants, bees, wasps, flies, caterpillars, lacewings, and sawfly larvae. </p>
<p>Some of these make silk to protect themselves. Crickets, for example, use silk to sew leaves together to build a nest. Others use silk in mating, such as dance-flies, in which the male impresses the female with a gift of food wrapped in silk. Some use silk for hunting, such as spiders and even glow-worms, which use sticky silk to capture flying animals they’d like to eat.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/curious-kids-if-a-huge-huntsman-spider-is-sucked-into-a-vacuum-cleaner-can-it-crawl-out-later-77390">Curious Kids: If a huge huntsman spider is sucked into a vacuum cleaner, can it crawl out later?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Scientists are closer than ever to producing artificial silk. For example, Dr Tara Sutherland at CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences can make bee silk proteins using bacteria, and then spin them into solid strings similar to those made by bees.</p>
<p>Maybe one day, if you become a scientist, you might be able to make something as strong, as light and as special as spiders’ silk.</p>
<hr>
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<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/168011/original/file-20170505-21620-huq4lj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/168011/original/file-20170505-21620-huq4lj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/168011/original/file-20170505-21620-huq4lj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/168011/original/file-20170505-21620-huq4lj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/168011/original/file-20170505-21620-huq4lj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=472&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/168011/original/file-20170505-21620-huq4lj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=472&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/168011/original/file-20170505-21620-huq4lj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=472&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><em>Please tell us your name, age, and which city you live in. You can send an audio recording of your question too, if you want. Send as many questions as you like! We won’t be able to answer every question but we will do our best.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/91824/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew Walker does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Some spiders produce silk than can actually be stronger than steel and 50 times as light.Andrew Walker, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/710032017-02-01T19:05:20Z2017-02-01T19:05:20ZWhy we can’t spin a silken yarn as strong as a spider can<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/154696/original/image-20170130-7693-11h1u2c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">If it's good enough for a spider, why can't we make such strong silk?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/chillmimi/8432405400/">Flickr/Petra Bensted</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Silk is a high performance protein-baed fibre that is naturally produced by invertebrates. The most well-known is the domesticated silk moth (<a href="https://www.britannica.com/animal/silkworm-moth"><em>Bombyx mori</em></a>), whose silk has been used in fabrics for more than 4,000 years.</p>
<p>Spiders also produce silk. The dragline silk – used for building the framework of webs and safety lines for the spider – has strength greater than steel and toughness greater than <a href="http://www.dupont.com.au/products-and-services/fabrics-fibers-nonwovens/fibers/brands/kevlar.html">Kevlar</a>. </p>
<p>What is more impressive is that it is produced within aqueous solutions at room temperature, and is highly biocompatible – meaning it’s non-toxic – and bacterial resistant.</p>
<p>If we could tap in to the secrets of this material it could herald a revolution in manufacturing. A swathe of high performance materials could potentially be produced, such as ultra-tough ropes and cables, light-weight safety uniforms, super-strong and light cases, binding sutures and other medicinal materials.</p>
<p>But unlike silkworms, harvesting silk directly from spiders is not a commercially viable option. Spiders require vast amounts of space for their webs, individual spiders do not produce high quantities of silk, and spiders tend to eat each other.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/155102/original/image-20170201-12669-rrbimc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/155102/original/image-20170201-12669-rrbimc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/155102/original/image-20170201-12669-rrbimc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155102/original/image-20170201-12669-rrbimc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155102/original/image-20170201-12669-rrbimc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155102/original/image-20170201-12669-rrbimc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155102/original/image-20170201-12669-rrbimc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155102/original/image-20170201-12669-rrbimc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Spiders use their silk to wrap up their prey.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/amylloyd/4983475214/">Flickr/Amy Felce</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Synthetic spider silk</h2>
<p>There have been some recent advances in our understanding of dragline silk protein structures. So why has commercial scale genetic engineering of a material that performs as well as natural spider silk <a href="http://pubs.rsc.org/en/Content/ArticleLanding/2011/SM/C1SM05812F#!divAbstract">proven exceptionally difficult</a>?</p>
<p>One reason is that the silk proteins created using genetic engineering and recombinant technologies have not been based on full-length spider silk gene sequences. </p>
<p>Also, an incomplete understanding of the natural spinning processes, and the influences of the internal and external environment over silk properties, <a href="http://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev-ento-031616-035615">appears to present a significant challenge</a>.</p>
<p>The best way forward in the quest for any large scale <a href="http://science.sciencemag.org/content/329/5991/528.full">production of spider silk-like materials</a> is through the processes of genetic engineering and biomimetics – mimicing the spider’s biological process. But again, significant obstacles still exist.</p>
<h2>How does a spider do it?</h2>
<p>Dragline silk is manufactured by spiders within the a gland called major ampullate gland. This gland is the <a href="http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/bm400898t">longest and most complex of all the silk glands</a> of spiders, so much so that it can be subdivided visibly into a tail, sac and duct region.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/155096/original/image-20170201-12649-s2jh18.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/155096/original/image-20170201-12649-s2jh18.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/155096/original/image-20170201-12649-s2jh18.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=138&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155096/original/image-20170201-12649-s2jh18.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=138&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155096/original/image-20170201-12649-s2jh18.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=138&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155096/original/image-20170201-12649-s2jh18.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=174&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155096/original/image-20170201-12649-s2jh18.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=174&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155096/original/image-20170201-12649-s2jh18.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=174&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Macroscopic image of a spider silk gland showing in (a) the anterior silk gland (ASG), funnel, middle silk gland (MSG) and posterior silk gland (PSG) and in (b) a major ampullate gland with duct, funnel, sac and tail.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/17/8/1290">Marlene Andersson, Jan Johansson and Anna Rising. Silk Spinning in Silkworms and Spiders. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2016; 17(8):1290.</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The proteins that make up the silk – known as spidroins – are secreted into the tail and stored in the sac as a concentrated liquid crystalline solution, called dope.</p>
<p>The dope is drawn through the duct during the process of fibre spinning where changes in salt concentration and pH induce the spidroins to form chains, and aggregate and fold into various secondary structures.</p>
<p>The dope forms a gel and flows further through the duct, which narrows considerably. This narrowing of the duct generates shear stress on the dope, which results in further folding and structural modification of the proteins.</p>
<p>Once pulled through the spinning valve by the spider (no, it is not squirted like Spiderman) the dope dehydrates and a solid fibre forms.</p>
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<h2>Efforts to mimic spider silk</h2>
<p>Developing synthetic fibres by mimicing the spider’s biological spinning approach involves three steps:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>The creation of the proteins that give spider silk its properties,</p></li>
<li><p>sequential chemical and physical treatment of the proteins under specific conditions to promote aggregation and folding at precise moments, and</p></li>
<li><p>spinning and drawing the fibres at controlled speed, preferably using water as a solvent.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Limitations have been encountered by researchers at each of these stages which have compromised the properties of the fibre produced.</p>
<p>Synthetic silk spinning first needs a spinning dope. Three sources of dope are used for artificial silk spinning: native, recombined and genetically modified dopes. </p>
<p>Native dope is preferred but can only be obtained either directly from the major ampullate gland of sacrificed spiders or from fibres dissolved in caustic solvents.</p>
<p>It is extremely difficult, almost impossible, to obtain sufficient quantities of native dope for commercial scale silk synthesis.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/aLSGBQUA8l0?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<h2>How to make dope</h2>
<p>An alternative is to derive a spinning dope by recombinant protein expression. This means inserting spider silk genes into bacteria and getting the bacteria to express the proteins.</p>
<p>The problem here is that the full-length sequences of spidroin-encoding genes are only known for a few species.</p>
<p>Attaining full length spider silk proteins by recombinant expression is difficult because the silk proteins are exceptionally large and so difficult for the bacteria to secrete, and for researchers to isolate and purify.</p>
<p>A limited range of recombinant silk proteins can thus be produced. It is now known that other encoding genes also influence the <a href="http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.jproteome.5b00353">structure and function of natural spider silks</a>. </p>
<p>Clearly, we do not yet know enough about the expression and function of the silk proteins and the role of other genes, and how they interact with the environment, to exploit recombinant technologies for making artificial silk.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/155103/original/image-20170201-12651-r0cmfa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/155103/original/image-20170201-12651-r0cmfa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/155103/original/image-20170201-12651-r0cmfa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155103/original/image-20170201-12651-r0cmfa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155103/original/image-20170201-12651-r0cmfa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155103/original/image-20170201-12651-r0cmfa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155103/original/image-20170201-12651-r0cmfa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155103/original/image-20170201-12651-r0cmfa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Easier for a spider to spin a beautiful web than it is to create a synthetic silk.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/dmills727/2214997534/">Flickr/Douglas Mills</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Spinning dopes can be created by genetically modifying proteins secreted by bacteria such as <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1389035200000088"><em>E. coli</em></a>, yeasts, plants such as <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-7652.2004.00087.x/full">tobacco</a>, or in animals. For example, silk proteins have been synthesised using <a href="http://science.sciencemag.org/content/295/5554/472">hamster liver cells</a> and mammary cells from goats.</p>
<p>But this approach produces dopes that contain silk-like proteins of significantly lower molecular weights than native spidroins. These proteins need special treatment to induce the individual chains to join up.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0105325">expression of spider silk spidroins in silkworms</a> has recently been done and shows potential for producing higher molecular weight genetically modified proteins, but the fibres produced are not as tough as spider silk fibres.</p>
<h2>Problems with protein treatments</h2>
<p>It seems crucial that the chemical and physical treatments of the dope, however it is attained, must closely mimic the natural spinning processes.</p>
<p>But our knowledge is poor of the natural processes occurring between protein secretion and spinning, and how they can cause variations in silk performance across environments.</p>
<p>We know that a combination of changes in water content, salt concentration, pH and shear stresses act on the dope within the silk gland, and that these processes induce protein structural rearrangements in the spun fibres. </p>
<p>But an understanding of how these induce the changes in silk properties is still unknown and <a href="http://www.spidersilkresearch.com.au/">our lab at UNSW</a> is working on this problem. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/155117/original/image-20170201-12675-jzpgtk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/155117/original/image-20170201-12675-jzpgtk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/155117/original/image-20170201-12675-jzpgtk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155117/original/image-20170201-12675-jzpgtk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155117/original/image-20170201-12675-jzpgtk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155117/original/image-20170201-12675-jzpgtk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155117/original/image-20170201-12675-jzpgtk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155117/original/image-20170201-12675-jzpgtk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">More research is needed before commercial production of spider-like silk is a go.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/11797866@N05/6013315671/">Flickr/Tonya</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>There have been reports of silks being produced with <a href="https://cen.acs.org/articles/92/i9/Spider-Silk-Poised-Commercial-Entry.html">material properties approaching those of spider silk</a>. But again, the gaps in our understanding of the biology and physical chemistry of silk spinning by spiders still limits the performance of the synthetic silks.</p>
<p>Methods presently used for spinning artificial silk fibres include electrospinning, mechanical spinning, microfluidic devices and solvent injection. </p>
<p>Technically, none of the methods mimics the natural silk spinning processes of spiders. Rather they are tried and tested modifications of established fibre spinning protocols. </p>
<p>Nevertheless, researchers have made considerable progress in the spinning of high quality artificial silks from recombinant proteins using such methods. Recently, a team from Sweden produced synthetic silk fibres with tensile strengths that <a href="http://www.nature.com/nchembio/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nchembio.2269.html?WT.feed_name=subjects_biotechnology">neared that of natural dragline silk</a>.</p>
<p>So while there have been some exciting advances, a lot of obstacles remain before we can seriously consider any commercial manufacture of artificial spider silk.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/71003/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sean Blamires receives funding from Australian Research Council.</span></em></p>Spider silk is strong stuff and could be used to manufacture ultra tough ropes and cables, and better sutures in medicine. If only we could find a way to make the stuff.Sean Blamires, Senior Lecturer in Evolutionary Biology, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/549482016-03-11T03:18:37Z2016-03-11T03:18:37ZNature’s hidden wealth is conservation’s missed opportunity<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/114756/original/image-20160310-26242-18nzvv4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Spider silk is just one of the ways nature has inspired innovation.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Silk image from www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Australia has one of the <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-08-19/fact-check-does-australia-have-one-of-the-highest-extinction/6691026">worst extinction records in the modern world</a>. Since European settlement, <a href="https://theconversation.com/to-save-australias-mammals-we-need-a-change-of-heart-27423">a third of the country’s native mammals have disappeared</a>. How can we stem the losses? </p>
<p>A recent article in Nature highlighted that most <a href="http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/conservation/strategy">federal and state biodiversity conservation policy</a> fails to recognise biodiversity as <a href="http://www.nature.com/news/interdisciplinarity-bring-biologists-into-biomimetics-1.19188">a major source of industrial products</a>.</p>
<p>Much as explorers chart new territories, chemists, materials scientists, engineers and biologists are exploring biodiversity for medicine, agricultural and industrial products. This sits well with <a href="http://www.news.com.au/finance/economy/australian-economy/malcolm-turnbull-unveils-innovation-package-to-lure-migrants-and-boost-australias-science-and-technology/news-story/4ec71fb43db5d4416fc32ef97c4ee61e">Australia’s current focus on innovation</a>, driven by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. </p>
<p>But the potential of biodiversity has been overlooked. </p>
<h2>Inspiring nature</h2>
<p>Animals and plants constitute a very small part of our native biodiversity (roughly 5%). The vast majority - fungi, bacteria and the enormous diversity of other microscopic organisms, including invertebrates - is a massive, largely unexplored economic resource. </p>
<p>The best known examples of commercial uses for biodiversity are the <a href="http://www.imb.uq.edu.au/drugs-from-bugs-new-agreement-to-harness-the-biodiversity-of-microbes">thousands of drugs secreted by bacteria and fungi</a>. But others are examples of what is known as “bio-inspiration” and “<a href="http://rsta.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/367/1893/1443.short">bio-mimicry</a>”, where wild species provide the blueprints for products. </p>
<p>While these products are of immense commercial value, the source species are rarely harvested in the conventional sense. Rather, a few specimens provide ample material for analysis. </p>
<p>So for microbes, invertebrates or plants, there is little concern that these industries are threats. For vertebrates, such as sharks, samples are either non-destructive or severely limited. </p>
<p>Some of the <a href="https://publications.nigms.nih.gov/insidelifescience/medical-materials.html">products such as spider silk and gecko feet are well known</a>. But these are the tip of an iceberg.</p>
<p>Other innovations include <a href="http://www.mdpi.com/2072-666X/6/6/718/htm">fire detection inspired by charcoal beetles</a>, <a href="http://www.nyp.org/deathstalkerscorpion">clinical compounds from scorpions</a> and <a href="http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-3190/10/6/066012">leaping robots from locusts</a>. In fact, bio-mimicry is huge in robotics, including the astonishing new field of <a href="http://www.nature.com/news/meet-the-soft-cuddly-robots-of-the-future-1.19285">“soft robots” modelled on tentacles, caterpillars and worms</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/114758/original/image-20160310-26279-1rbeqk3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/114758/original/image-20160310-26279-1rbeqk3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/114758/original/image-20160310-26279-1rbeqk3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=370&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/114758/original/image-20160310-26279-1rbeqk3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=370&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/114758/original/image-20160310-26279-1rbeqk3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=370&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/114758/original/image-20160310-26279-1rbeqk3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/114758/original/image-20160310-26279-1rbeqk3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/114758/original/image-20160310-26279-1rbeqk3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Robotics have taken inspiration from nature too.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Stickybot.jpg">Biomimetics and Dexterous Manipulation Laboratory</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Products such as drugs can be sourced from <a href="http://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/11/11/4594">single-celled animals and plants</a> and from <a href="http://www.drugdiscoverytoday.com/view/3247/marine-microbes-creating-green-waves-in-industry/">microbes of all kinds</a>, <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1359644610002515">even those that are currently uncultivable</a>. <a href="http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-3190/11/1/011001/pdf">Super-water-repellent materials</a>, are sourced from the outer surfaces of organisms as different as insects and higher plants.</p>
<p>Then there is bio-mineralization: soft-bodied animals make very hard substances, such as the radula of marine snails, a tongue tough enough to drill rock. To make materials that strong, industry currently requires high temperatures and pressures, not to mention polluting chemicals.</p>
<p>The snails make their radula and shell from natural materials and at normal temperatures and pressures. How do they do it? Many labs around the world are struggling to find out.</p>
<h2>Why are these stories so important?</h2>
<p>How can exploring biodiversity help conserve it? </p>
<p>First, much as charismatic animals such as tigers and whales are used as icons for conservation, so can species that we use for developing products - but with the added grunt that they are central to the economy. These are very sexy stories; fascinating tales of the transformation of natural phenomena into industrial products.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/conservation/strategy">Australia’s Biodiversity Conservation Strategy</a> states that we must “engage all Australians” to save biodiversity. But leaving out biodiversity and industrial products is a massive lost opportunity for engagement. </p>
<p>Second, as biodiversity products come from any kind of organism from any kind of ecosystem, these growing industries require the conservation of that resource. This would greatly expand the <a href="http://openjournals.library.usyd.edu.au/index.php/TEL/article/view/8076">current conservation focus on a few charismatic species</a>. </p>
<p>Third, much of biodiversity exploration research is overseas. Some Australian scientists and engineers are involved, for example, in utilising the arrangements of plant fibres to inspire <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1748-3190/10/6/066008">lightweight strengthening of aircraft engines</a>. However, it is hard to find the promotion of this exciting research in any policy nation-wide; political, economic or scientific. </p>
<p>Given Prime Minister Turnbull’s focus on innovation, and given that <a href="https://www.wilderness.org.au/articles/australias-biodiversity-summary">Australian biodiversity is both vast and unique</a>, overlooking biomimicry and its related industries is another lost opportunity for both conservation and the national economy. </p>
<p>Scientists and engineers inside many industries are forging ahead with exploration for biodiversity products in many, non-destructive and highly imaginative ways all over the world. </p>
<p>It’s time our governments and conservationists wised up.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/54948/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew Beattie does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Drugs, new materials and even more creative uses: biodiversity is full of potential.Andrew Beattie, Emeritus Professor, Macquarie UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.