This irrelevant fact courtesy of my biology paper
Ever wanted to know why wool and other animal fibres are stretchy, and silk isn’t? It’s all in the structure of the proteins, apparently: the protein chains in wool and hair form a helix, making them flexible and elastic, while fibroin (silk protein) is a strong but much more rigid pleated sheet. Some fibres, such as those produced by spiders, have both helical and sheet peptides, making them both strong and elastic.
Thought 1: Strong and elastic? Sounds ideal to me.
Thought 2: How many spiders would it take to make enough yarn for a sweater?
Thought 3: Would spider yarn pill? And could it be machine washed?
Jess said,
12 November 2006 at 10:02 am
There’s a song by Ani DiFranco, where the chorus basically goes: what doesn’t bend, Breaks. Trees are strong and flexible, and office buildings are made to sway with the wind. The CN Tower in Toronto is the tallest free-standing building in the world, and it sways up to 3 feet in either direction. People actually get nauseus when they’re up there.
I have no idea about the spider stuff….but the protein helix you’re talking about is called “alpha-helic”, and the folded proteins are called “beta-sheets”. Together, they (how many, what order tjhey’re in, how long they are) are referred to as the “secondary structure” of proteins. I’m sure you know this, but I’m just excercising my brain, it’s been a while since I’ve studied all this (and nerdly as it sounds, I find it fun to quiz myself).
Good questions!