Shi En Kim, Contributor
(Inside Science) Even though he works with spiders regularly, Yao Zhang, a physicist at Jinan University in China, admits he s afraid of them. In fact, most of the people in his lab are, except for graduate student Zhiyong Gong, who keeps spiders as pets in his dorm. Naturally, Gong was the one who volunteered to harvest spider silk in the lab as part of the group s efforts to study how the silk can be used to benefit the human world. He was the real Spider-man , said Zhang.
Whether you re afraid of spiders or not, it s hard not to marvel at the wonders of spider silk. By weight, it s stronger than steel and tougher than Kevlar. It s also exceptionally elastic and can stretch a further one-half its length before it breaks that s twice as long as nylon can stretch. Also, spider silk doesn t harm living tissue and breaks down safely inside the body, which has led scientists to investigate the biomedical applications of this extraordinary material.�
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A plant cell wall’s unique ability to expand without weakening or breaking is due the movement of its cellulose skeleton, according to new research by Penn State biologists that models the cell wall. Chains of cellulose bundle together within the cell wall, providing strength, and slide against each other when the cell is stretched, providing extensibility.
Study finds what makes plant cell walls both strong and extensible ANI | Updated: May 15, 2021 23:04 IST
Washington [US], May 15 (ANI): A plant cell wall s unique ability to expand without weakening or breaking- a quality required for plant growth- is due to the movement of its cellulose skeleton, according to new research Penn State researchers that modelled the cell wall.
The new model, created by Penn State researchers, reveals that chains of cellulose bundled together within the cell wall, providing strength, and slide against each other when the cell is stretched, providing extensibility.
The new study, which appears in the journal Science, presents a new concept of the plant cell wall, gives insights into plant cell growth, and could provide inspiration for the design of polymeric materials with new properties.