Mother nature is a monster of invention science can learn a lot from the incredible materials around us like bamboo its light flexible and still extremely sturdy because of the knots along the stem. Caterpillar silk is another it warms up in the cold and cools down in the heat nature spins out all kinds of fascinating materials some could even be used to heal us. Every year nearly three hundred thousand people have a heart attack in germany alone many of those who survived face dealing with a weakened heart for the rest of their life. Thats because the heart muscle tissue damaged in an attack cant regenerate scar tissue forms which affects the hearts ability to pump. But this. Might be about to change thanks to spiders they could help millions of people regain a strong and healthy heart. Are simply amazing when it comes to producing materials there are masters at manufacturing remarkable fibers. Its the spider silk that has scientists excited its made up mainly of proteins and its a biological model a strand maybe two thousands of a millimeter wide yet its tougher and stronger than any other known fiber. Its possible to milk spiders to. The material is being used more and more in the field of medicine for example as a wound dressing. Be used inside of bodies. The most exciting aspect of these fibers is that they are invisible to the body so they can be used as a bio shield in stealth mode anything you wrap and so is no longer regarded as a foreign substance by the body this is a great achievement we can avoid triggering any reaction on the part of the body to the surface of so. As a scaffolding material for growing. At the university of. Natural spider to grow heart muscle cells. Microscope you can see individual cells contracting rhythmically. There is a downside natural. Insufficient quantity. The problem was we couldnt produce cells of the same quality or in sufficient quantities so we abandon the project because we thought we could never implemented in humans. But in the meantime. Thomas scheiber over in by a god was working on a possible solution to the problem artificial spider silk. Happened was we had one advantage before us twenty years of research had failed so we knew what not to do Business Model was. After many years of work shy who fought our way to engineer spider silk protein. Could help tearing. Into the language of the bacteria and then planted these genes into the genome of the bacteria which could then produce the valuable silk protein. That was the plan and it worked. And now large amounts of the spider so protein can be produced in so called for mentors. After several rounds of purification and processing the protein is reduced to a white powder this powder can then be processed as needed in huge quantities. We produce tons of silk protein in one hundred twenty thousand leader bioreactors it is in fiction anymore its already in reality. The protein is being tested as a coating on breast implants to improve bio compatibility and decrease the chance of an adverse response. Its probably also well seated as a coating for artificial heart valves. Sprayed on as a fin film the silk protein would make the foreign parts almost invisible to the body. And the synthetic protein looks like a fantastic resource for felix angle in his quest to grow new heart muscle cells as a gel it can be used in three d. Printing. Three d. Technology is available we all know we can print nonliving matter but now were seeing its possible to print a living matter as well. Perhaps one day we might be able to print heart muscle blood vessel and connective tissue cells in just the right combination. For now the initial experiments show that heart muscle cells produced in this way can form a structure and beat synchronously for several weeks. In the future it might be possible to apply such engineer tissue to damaged areas of the heart and give it new strength. But the prospect of replacing and renewing heart muscle in humans is still quite distant the individual components of the printed heart tissue would have to Grow Together and form a single well formed unit implanted to she would have to be able to beat in sync with the recipients heart nevertheless there is growing confidence that this goal will eventually be achieved with the help of hi tech spider silk. It seems theres no end to natures curative powers have you ever thought of nettles as medicine. How about ginger as a natural antibiotic. All sage to treat a sore throat. They say is the medicinal treasure trove. Theres still so much left to discover. Its knowledge dating back thousands of years the healing affects of plants and her. Knowledge that was of great importance in the middle ages and then to some extent forgotten. But many scientists are now developing a curiosity for these plants and medical practitioners are rediscovering the healing power. Of the mobile remedies are often underestimated they supplement conventional medicine sometimes theyre the first choice. Where in town or snare frankfurt with is from put karma shes looking for hopes for medicinal teams. Today she mostly wants young nettles and birch and black berry leaves. Some of the planets and metals and birch leaves because they flush out the urinary system. And black berry leaves have an anti inflammatory effect in the mouth want to use all three to make an herbal blend. Its like a home remedy. As a her back spat at frankfurts paghman gotten Potomac Gardens she knows the potential of plants to protect themselves against pests and pathogens they often contain oils bitter substances and acids that kill germs. Like willows along with many other active ingredients that contains salicylic acid compounds at the end of the Nineteenth Century chemists developed these substances in two thousand of the most popular fever and pain relief medications. Aspirin. There are more than seven hundred plants in germany known to have medicinal affects a new ones discovered around the world all the time. Research and has helped so is trying to unlock more secrets from the plant world hes investigating marshmallow root and cats whiskas which contain substances that could help really coughs and urine every Tract Infections. The research is job is to develop new drugs and improve the ones that are already available. To the future the problem is the sheer multitude of substances in these magicians plants often we know the plant has an effect but many times we dont know which of the countless substances is responsible thats what our research is about cracking this code so we can develop more effective medications were. Going to come and were going to put. Red sage is also an intriguing plant its nothing to have a wound healing effect but there are over fifty five ten chill active ingredients so which one is responsible for healing wounds researches are trying to find out since using human skin cell cultures they treat them each with just one isolated substance from the sage plant. The question is does the substance promote cell growth. Because for a wing to heal new skin cells have to grow in that area. The song was attested a few days later its a painstaking test but the results could be huge. It would be out of sight and it would be such a great breakthrough to identify which substances have the most positive effect on wound healing especially for bedridden patients with wounds that are hard to treat hopefully our research will help us to develop new drugs. Scientists havent tested all the substances yet but they hope to find the active ingredient within a year or two im to develop a drug from it. The research is further along for other medicinal plants. Is from the estimates of clinic in western germany he treats patients every day with highly effective herbal drugs the clinic is one of six acute care clinics across the country that focus on complementary and alternative medicine half of all patients at the clinic receive it usually alongside conventional medicine. For a severe cough for example but also to fight urinary Tract Infections and chronic gastrointestinal diseases or to lower cholesterol levels. The clinic uses more than fifty plant based medicines in the internal Medicine Department alone and has done so for fifteen years. Supplementing conventional medicine with herbal remedies can offer big results. Like the nonspecific back pain and i all meant many people suffer from. Its usual unspecific back pain can be greatly helped by using herbal medicine because its the biggest advantage of these herbal drugs is that they often cause fewer side effects significantly fewer herbal medicine also plays a major role in treating respiratory diseases it can alleviate the symptoms which means less coughing less pain in the limb. And faster healing and theres no conventional alternative to this herbal remedy thats on a par in terms of side effects. Of you. Want to be fancy. Of course its always important to speak to a doctor about the cause of an illness and the treatment plan. Self medicating with herbal remedies alone can be life threatening. Its a danger that is respond put karma is aware of. Even though the hopes she collects are considered completely safe shes very careful and she knows when to seek medical attention. In this market doesnt she. If i notice a slight infection in my bladder or kidney. I use these plans. Dunwoody hes a fly but i monitor myself carefully. If after two or three days theres no improvement i would definitely go to a doctor and have it checked out. Clearly. Spurs some of the but really shes collected straight away so that the active ingredients can infuse best. She drives the rest to make tea plans for later medicine cabinet scavenged from nature. Even pesky we can help to heal us. We asked on facebook if there are any Natural Remedy use you swear by. Kevin or kill you as upon tang is a fan of nettles because they can defend themselves and defend our. Caprice he could work every year carnegie things out of iraq is probably the best skin remedy he knows it has a powerful effect on the skin especially when its combined with lemon juice and other natural products. And still manage to spell it right is says ginger is the first thing he takes when hes ill and its even better with a bit of honey and lemon. Than for your comments. To see it becomes a seedling it grows its first leaves. And then flowers and eventually the fruit with seeds of its own and so the cycle begins again but plants change constantly depending on the time of day. Joshua quaid from ghana sent in this photo with a question for us. Why do flowers close at night and how do they do it. Slower. Dont only move when the wind blows. Or when you give them to your sweetheart. It all happens so slowly that the movement is best captured with time lapse photography. A rose bursts into bloom. Long wearing plants open and close their blossoms every day not all at night but at different times depending on their needs why is that they only pollinators to carry their pollen to other flowers and fertilize them. But it flowers all opened at the same time the competition for the beans or backs or birds would be very great. Focuss do close their flowers at night the theory is that they do so to protect their pollen from the damp and the cold but how do they do it. At this party its easy to see how it works and that young people use their muscles and joints to make their dance moves. But flowers all they have to do is stand there to attract pollinators with their beautiful colors nectar and fragrance. But they do also have joints of a sword where the petals grow out of the stone. When the water pressure inside increases the bloom opens. When the pressure subsides the flower closes and takes a rest. If outlet is red white i mean. Do you have a science question that youve always wanted oncet were happy to help out send it to us as a video text ovoid spell if we answer it on the show well send you a. A little surprise as a thank you. Come on just ask. Youll find us at v. W. Dot com slash science on twitter dude over here under school site tech and on facebook d. W. Dot science. Flowers open up to lure in their insect visitors like these bees live in communities sophisticated systems with a Clear Division of labor nurse species look after the larvae worker bees build the honeycomb from where else and they fly out to collect nectar to make honey as a small these can do things theyve never be able to do on their own and thats what our web video is all about this week. How do bees defy the wind. Once a year honeybees head out to form a new colony. To rest during their search they gather under branches to huddle together. That scientists wanted to know how honeybees swarm holds together in the wind. So in the lab theyve built these movable platforms to simulate wind. When the small mache can the bees are exposed to extreme loads especially those directly on the board. Of these responded by spreading around. The flat or turn makes the small more stable. Researchers track the movements of individual beanies and found that they crawl in the direction of the higher load. When all the bees follow that rule the cone becomes flatter. Then the colony becomes more stable and can withstand the wind. Intelligence makes for a stronger colony. These butterflies and other insects need large medicine grasslands to thrive. Thats industrial monoculture is coming that biodiversity thats bad for the bugs especially the pollinators were relying on scientists are looking for a solution. Researchers at the university of bonn visit these fields regularly to count the insects this is a Research Facility of the Agriculture Department across the rhine in hand if their aim is to make farms and farming more insect friendly. The fields here are bordered by head dros and wild flowers. Thomas during says they attract all kinds of insects. More than fifty species of ground beetle spend the winter in these hedges when spring comes they get to work. Around beetles eat parasites there are lots and lots of these beetles here in the field so they consume lots and lots of pests. With the hedges flowers and grasses the agricultural ecologists have created a habitat for beneficial insects that eat the pests reducing or eliminating the need for pesticides. Heres a ladybird love it feeds on aphids one. Will do the other. I think. By promoting beneficial bugs we can substantially reduce the pest population reduce not eliminate some always remain as you can see here on these beans. But we can succeed in stabilizing the system. Alongside the hedges the flowers around the field dont bloom at the same time but in sequence so the insects never run out of food. Many different species of insect make use of the flowers. This part of the field is known as the head land or turn row where the tractors turn. Because of the heavy traffic the soil tends to be rather compacted. So the yield here isnt so great. When it comes to crops the area may not be so attractive in economic terms. But we can use it to house insects. Its not just the edges of the field that look different the field itself has to. Be no weed killers are used here so insects find food throughout the fields seeds pollen nectar from poppies and cameo. The downside is that the wild flowers compete with the crops for nutrients in the soil. You have to accept some degree of weed cover. Farming you can never keep all weeds and bay thats not the aim anyway. Overall organic farming yields about twenty percent less than conventional farming. On the other hand by deploying beneficial bugs and a range of other measures we can ensure that eels are relatively stable. Duelling and his colleagues use mechanical methods to deal with weeds not chemicals. The equipment can only be used between the rows of crops any weeds right up against the wheat remain. The Crop Rotation is carefully planned six different crops over a six year cycle and then it starts all over again. Each crop takes a different mix of nutrients from the soil depletion is slower and more balanced. The insects thrive in the good soil. Theres no need for synthetic nitrogen fertilizer its job is done by the legumes such as clover and beans that make up part of the rotation cycle their roots bind nitrogen from the air and make it available to the soil. Crop rotation is a key part of organic farming with it you can kill two birds with one stone well not just two but ten the soil here is nothing like what you have with say a maze monoculture the soil structure is much much better. Nice and crumbly it is. This has to do with lots of beneficial insects. Well thats a disease prevention i hope. And better way to control its all in talk i was. Taishan has lots of advantages that all come together lights out here. Biodiversity here is thirty percent greater than in conventionally farm fields and when it comes to pollinators its fifty percent greater blossoming had frozen borders no pesticides less fertilizer plus Crop Rotation this winning combination is bearing fruit and u. V. And heres the wild being. That was hooked on so many species. Meaning to me. Thats all for now next time how scientists and Game Developers teamed up to decode hieroglyphs using Artificial Intelligence those ancient egyptian sources went into the video game assassins creed origins the past meets the future next time on tomorrow today. Enter the conflict zones confronting the powerful new few billion views on the great n. T. E. U. Populists are making gains across the continent this week conflict zone has employed. With alec stewart the fool a finnish Prime Minister does lose the can face the conflicts president of the new fee and commissions and anything. Complex so for thirty minutes c. W. O. From. Letter we were. When we were. In the percent of americans at some point in our lives will experience hardship. Listen. To. Finance. Climate change. Waste. Pollution. Isnt it time for good news eco africa people have projects that are changing our lives are meant for the better its up to us to make a difference lets explain each other. We can let it go environment magazine. Long t. W. Female candidates and it is a day for. Women all striving for power in the u. S. Midterm election. Night out there out of. Luck to these women one. Please tell us on this pink way. And meet some of the candidates. C. W. T. The. Human. Body. This is g w news live from berlin and donald trump shrugs off outrage from critics following a spate of boarded bomb attacks he says its the media who are responsible for ensuring a civil debate that is after a bomber targeted democrats regularly vilified by trump and his supporters also coming up those attempted bombings are the latest developments in a volatile mix term race with two weeks to go until America Votes we checked in on one of the men