Buzz
Creepy, crawly, and surprisingly ubiquitous – spiders seem to be everywhere, whether we spot them or not. But did you know they're also the source of many innovative ideas? Unbelievable, right?
Most of us are quick to avoid spiders. It’s unnerving when they appear unexpectedly – in the shower, as we sleep, walking into an unseen web, or even when they leap across rooms. Their mere presence often triggers thoughts of setting the house on fire to remove them! While some are giant, others can be deadly, but most are harmless – and they consume pests that might harm us.
However, these arachnids have more to offer than just fear or visions of superheroes swinging from webs. Who would have guessed that these seemingly terrifying little creatures could inspire innovations that go far beyond our imagination? Here's a look at 10 advancements that owe their existence to these creepy crawlers. Perhaps they're not as dreadful as we make them out to be. The nightmares they’ve inspired are paving the way for a brighter tomorrow.
10. Revolutionary Surgical Tape: Sticks to Wet Surfaces Better Than Traditional Band-Aids
At some point in your life, you've likely needed a band-aid, stitches, or medical tape to cover a wound and keep it clean—unless you're living in a padded room, avoiding sharp objects, and don’t even have fingernails (but that’s a whole different story). You’re probably also familiar with the annoyance of constantly having to replace them when they get wet, slip off, or lose their effectiveness. It’s frustrating—and it can add up over time. Enter spiders to the rescue for both your wounds and your patience.
Researchers at MIT are working to perfect a surgical tape that can quickly adhere to and seal wounds by utilizing water, just like how spider webs absorb moisture, making them stickier. This tape uses a two-sided adhesive with an extraordinarily strong bond, which has already been tested successfully on pig skin and lungs. It employs polyacrylic acid to absorb water and creates a bond reinforced by gelatin, which breaks down harmlessly as the body heals. No more second appointments for stitch removal or itchy rashes from regular medical tape. Sounds pretty amazing, right?
9. Outshining Kevlar: Spider Silk Body Armor
While Kevlar, inspired by spider silk, has been a revolutionary material used in body armor and sailboat sails, it may soon be overshadowed by even more advanced versions of that same sticky, elastic substance we’ve all had the displeasure of walking into.
It takes 33 layers of Kevlar to stop a .22 caliber bullet. But a new material called “Dragon Silk,” made from silk produced by Golden Orb Weaver spiders, can stop the same bullet with only 4 layers. Now that’s impressive! The U.S. Army is so intrigued by its potential that they’ve invested in its production, anticipating widespread use in the future. It has taken millions of spiders to create this breakthrough material. A big thank you to these web-spinning wonders!
There’s also artificial silk being developed at Washington University in St. Louis, known as “polymeric amyloid” fiber. This synthetic version of spider silk is produced by engineered bacteria that create a recombinant silk with comparable mechanical properties to its natural counterpart. The goal is to make it even stronger than actual spider silk. Looks like human intelligence, bacteria, and spiders are an unbeatable team!
8. Spider Webs for Micro-Imaging: Creating Tiny Dome Lenses
The medical field is rapidly embracing the wonders of spider abilities. Researchers at Tamkang and Yang-Ming Universities in Taiwan are creating minuscule lenses designed for internal human body imaging. These lenses are so tiny that they’re almost the same size as a red blood cell. That means they can travel throughout the body, following the path of blood, making them incredibly useful for a variety of applications.
The key to this innovation lies in using the actual “dragline silk” from Daddy Long Legs spiders to construct the frames for these lenses. The silk is coated with resin and then baked in an ultraviolet oven. This results in lenses that are not only bio-friendly inside the body but also capable of nanoscale imaging. This breakthrough could revolutionize medical research, offering far less invasive methods than current technologies. Who knows, maybe Spidey-senses will be an unexpected bonus!
7. Spider Venom: A New Alternative to Viagra?
Men unfortunate enough to be bitten by one of the world’s deadliest spiders, the Brazilian Wandering Spider, have reported an unexpected side effect beyond pain—persistent erections. Now, don't go hunting for these nightmare-inducing creatures in hopes of a private rendezvous! But scientists have taken a cue from this venom and developed a gel that can produce the same effect.
Sure, the BZ371 gel could probably use a more appealing name for the general public. But it seems to do its job remarkably well—within 20-30 minutes of application, without any external stimulation, and with no reported side effects. The effects reportedly last around 60 minutes. Any ideas for a catchy name for this wonder gel?
6. Eight Limbs of Innovation: Robots Inspired by Spiders
Even if the sight of spiders sends shivers down your spine, there’s no denying their unique mobility, which enables them to perform impressive feats. Imagine if we could move like they do—our efficiency would be off the charts! Sadly, we’re missing two legs and have limited joint movement and flexibility. Even hours of yoga wouldn’t bring us closer to the agile movements of our eight-legged cousins. But this ability hasn’t escaped the attention of the robotics world.
Researchers have created limbs and joints modeled after spider legs, enhancing the functionality of robots by reducing the number of parts needed. These innovations result in lighter, smaller components with superior mobility, making them ideal for a wide range of robots. This breakthrough is being hailed as a major step forward in robotics. High-eight, Spiders!…but please, from a safe distance.
5. We Could All Become Spider-Man!: Real Web Shooters
Who hasn’t dreamed of shooting webs like Spider-Man? It’s one of those fun fantasies we all indulge in—even as adults, pretending to swing through the air because it's just so cool (don’t deny it, we all do it—this is a judgment-free zone!). But rest easy, someone is actually working on making that dream a reality. With time, it could even enable us to swing from buildings, though it might require some parkour skills and serious upper body strength.
A mechanical engineer and YouTuber from South Africa, JT, has built impressive web-shooters for a thesis project that he showcases on his channel, Built IRL. You’ll definitely want to check it out—who wouldn’t? He uses metal cylinders with long cables and metal hooks designed to latch onto metal bars. The system is powered by compressed propane and a custom-designed igniter. It’s exciting to see real-life inspiration drawn from the things that once terrified us. Go, Spidey-JT!
4. Stylish and Practical Spider-Inspired Fashion: Sustainable Web-Wear
Let’s face it—the fashion world sometimes goes a little overboard and can end up looking impractical in the real world. Of course, I’m speaking as someone who prefers comfort—plain sneakers, a simple T-shirt, and either yoga pants or jeans. Not exactly runway material! But fashion can also serve as a force for change, revitalizing an industry that’s been contributing to environmental damage with disposable trends, synthetic materials, and toxic practices. And once again, spiders are here to help.
A company named Bolt Threads has bioengineered a yeast that contains a spider silk protein gene. As the yeast ferments, it produces silk proteins which are then purified and spun into a fabric known as MicroSilk. Adidas has already utilized a version of this material to craft a lightweight tennis dress. Another company, AMSilk, has made a similar material called BioSteel, which Adidas incorporated into a sneaker. Now, it looks like the airline industry is showing interest in these synthetic silks because of their potential to reduce weight. Innovation inspired by nature to preserve nature. Simply brilliant.
3. Reflective Webs Save Birds: UV-Reflective Glass
Birds have a remarkable ability to see ultraviolet light, which is why they often collide with glass windows in our homes. The resulting crash is typically loud and sometimes cracks the glass. Some birds get a little stunned, while others, unfortunately, don’t make it. Interestingly, spider webs reflect ultraviolet light, visible to birds, which is why they don’t rebuild their webs in places where birds might fly into them. This helps spiders save time and work, while preventing birds from getting stuck. Pretty awesome, right?
This revelation inspired the German glass company Glaswerke Arnold to create Orinlux Bird Protection Glass. Buildings using this glass, embedded with UV-reflective threads, have reportedly seen a 75-90% reduction in bird strikes. To human eyes, it’s just a standard transparent window, but the UV patterns act as an invisible warning to birds. Developed in 2006, this technology is now being incorporated into many new buildings and is expected to become widely adopted soon. Cheers to bird safety and spider-inspired ingenuity!
2. Spider Silk Milk: Goat Genes Altered to Produce Spider Silk
Step aside, Dr. Frankenstein! Biomimicry is advancing rapidly. Instead of attempting to conquer nature, we’re learning from her. Nexia, a company at the forefront of this, has been genetically modifying goat eggs with genes from the Golden Orb Weaver spider to produce goats that create spider silk proteins in their milk. This is possible because the glands responsible for milk production in goats and silk production in spiders are remarkably similar. Goat milk has also been used to create various medicines, so it made sense scientifically, even if it sparked some controversy.
But why, you ask? Well, it's widely known that spider silk is just as strong as, if not stronger than, steel. With its incredible strength, flexibility, and durability, it could be used in a wide variety of applications—think building engineering in earthquake-prone areas or surgical grafting. The idea of mass-producing spider silk is appealing, though it still doesn’t quite measure up to the silk produced by the spiders themselves. But rest assured, the scientists are hard at work and they’re determined to perfect it.
1. Poison That Relieves Pain: Tarantula Venom May Replace Opioids
Recently, the devastating effects of synthetic opioids have come into sharper focus. Side effects such as rashes, constipation, nausea, respiratory issues, addiction, and more have led to a growing concern. The need for alternative pain treatments for those suffering from chronic or neuropathic pain is urgent, and science is on the case.
Researchers at the University of Queensland have discovered molecules in tarantula venom from the Chinese Bird Spider that could be developed into small proteins capable of binding to pain receptors. When administered in the right dosage, these proteins surround the pain receptors, blocking their function. So far, there have been no known side effects from this approach.
Now, that’s true relief! All the studies have been conducted on mice so far, but the results show great promise for future pain management. Who would have thought that something capable of causing excruciating pain could also be used to alleviate it? Gotta love— or at least respect— science.
+ Spider Music!
If you haven’t experienced it yet, people have now turned the way spiders construct their webs into music, using 3-D video to make it even more unsettling. It’s as eerie as you’d imagine. The project, called Spider Canvas, was a collaboration between MIT’s CAST faculty, a Ph.D. student in Civil and Environmental Engineering, the department head, a Music and Theatre Arts lecturer, and a composer/video artist.
This intricate masterpiece is both captivating and eerie. Halloween has just gained a new theme song.
