Name: 蜘蛛絲如何改變世界 (How Spider Silk Could Change The World)
Uploaded: 2020-10-24T18:28:33.000Z
Duration: 5 min 25 s

Ah, Spider's web is more than just a spider's house.

啊，蜘蛛網不僅僅是蜘蛛的房子。

This homemade, glistening material has some Spidey's strength of its own.

這種自制的發光材料，本身就有一些蜘蛛俠的實力。

Spider silk is tougher than Kevlar, more flexible than nylon and thinner than a single strand of human hair, making this super material one of the strongest materials in the world.

蜘蛛絲比凱夫拉爾更堅韌，比尼龍更柔韌，比人的一根頭髮還細，這種超級材料是世界上最堅固的材料之一。

Biological or man made and the combination of its strength and stretch is exactly why scientists are obsessed with cloning spider silk.

生物的還是人造的，而它的強度和彈性的結合，正是科學家們痴迷於克隆蜘蛛絲的原因。

Now there are seven types of spider silks, but one has caught the eye of scientists worldwide.

現在有7種蜘蛛絲，但有一種蜘蛛絲引起了全世界科學家的注意。

It's called dragline silk, and it's the silk that they used to make the framework of the Web and the Radio I.

這叫拖線絲，他們就是用這種絲來做網絡和無線電一號的框架。

But they also The reason it's called dragline is is that whenever they walk, they leave the silk behind.

但他們也 之所以叫拖線，是因為每當他們行走時，都會留下絲。

This is Randy Lewis, a molecular biologist at Utah State University known for his pioneering efforts in producing synthetic spider silk.

這是蘭迪-劉易斯，猶他州立大學的分子生物學家，以生產合成蜘蛛絲的開創性工作而聞名。

Now, Lewis and other scientists say that silk is so strong it could be used in advances in artificial ligaments, surgical suitors and hernia mesh is while other spider threads rely on one protein.

現在，劉易斯和其他科學家說，絲綢是如此強大，它可以用於人工韌帶，手術求婚者和疝氣網是而其他蜘蛛線依靠一種蛋白質的進步。

This one combines two with protein structures that build on lock onto each other, almost like Legos.

這個將兩個與蛋白質結構結合在一起，互相鎖上，幾乎就像樂高積木一樣。

This build up the strand strength and elasticity with bonds so strong even water can't penetrate them.

這樣可以增強股線的強度和彈性，其粘結力非常強，甚至連水都無法穿透。

But you can't just take these silks from spiders.

但你不能隨便從蜘蛛身上拿這些絲。

Spiders air, actually notoriously bad at spitting their own threads.

蜘蛛的空氣，其實是出了名的不善於吐絲。

They'll make strands that are inconsistent in diameter, making them fine for this, but not necessarily for this.

它們會使股線的直徑不一致，使它們可以做這個，但不一定能做這個。

So Lewis and his team have had to turn to other methods is in terms of spider silk protein.

所以劉易斯和他的團隊不得不轉向其他方法是在蜘蛛絲蛋白方面。

We've got to find a cheap way to make it.

我們得找一個便宜的方法來做。

Randy and his team took the spider silk team from their lab and decided to transfer it into other organisms to see if protein production could happen through other processes.

蘭迪和他的團隊把實驗室裡的蜘蛛絲團隊，決定把它轉移到其他生物體中，看看是否可以通過其他過程進行蛋白質的生產。

Now we started with bacteria because they're easy, they're fast.

現在我們從細菌開始，因為它們很容易，它們很快速。

But researchers also tried to see if they could grow it in plants like alfalfa or insert the spider silk laden bacteria into goats.

但研究人員也嘗試著看是否能在紫花苜蓿等植物中種植，或者將含有蜘蛛絲的細菌插入山羊體內。

We moved the gene from our bacteria into goats, and so they produced the spider silk protein in the milk, and we collect the milk and purify the spider silk protein from that, but the most efficient method, they discovered silkworms.

我們把細菌的基因搬到山羊身上，於是他們在牛奶中產生了蜘蛛絲蛋白，我們收集牛奶，從中提純蜘蛛絲蛋白，但最有效的方法，他們發現了蠶。

This method is still being used today with Lewis's lab, both making and spinning synthetic spider thread.

劉易斯的實驗室至今仍在使用這種方法，無論是製作還是紡制合成蛛絲。

We know that that certainly has possibilities for artificial ligaments and artificial tendons, because we know that we can make material right now.

我們知道，這當然有可能用於人工韌帶和人工肌腱，因為我們知道，我們現在可以製造材料。

That's stronger than the human tendon for the same diameter.

同樣直徑的情況下，這比人的肌腱還強。

Researchers have been experimenting with using spider threads to reconnect severed nerves.

研究人員一直在嘗試用蜘蛛線來重新連接被切斷的神經。

Traditionally, nerve repair is often limited to gap smaller than three centimeters, using transplanted nerves or hollow conduits to fill the space.

傳統上，神經修復往往侷限於小於三釐米的間隙，採用移植神經或空心導管來填充空間。

But spider silk can actually extend beyond that length without becoming brittle and breaking.

但蜘蛛絲其實可以延伸到超過這個長度，而不至於變脆斷裂。

This is Christine Radke, who led a team of researchers to develop a technique using spider silk to connect damage nerves.

這是Christine Radke，她帶領一個研究小組開發了一種利用蜘蛛絲連接受損神經的技術。

And in that gap we put in longitudinal direction, our spider sick, and we could see nerve regeneration over that gap.

而在這個空隙中，我們把縱向的方向，我們的蜘蛛病，我們可以看到神經再生在這個間隙。

The team tested this method on sheep since they found that sheeps nerves closely replicated those of humans, and they discovered that the nerve cells would use the spider silk almost like a trellis growing along the thread and on spiders.

研究小組在綿羊身上測試了這種方法，因為他們發現綿羊的神經緊密複製了人類的神經，他們發現神經細胞會利用蜘蛛絲幾乎就像沿著線和蜘蛛上生長的棚架一樣。

他們... ...他們發瘋了，他們增殖了。

That's exactly what we need for repair for regeneration.

這正是我們修復再生所需要的。

So if the extremity iss moving, it doesn't rupture.

所以如果肢體在動，就不會破裂。

And on the other side, it's flexible as well.

So it's a perfect material, and we only could find that in nature.

所以這是一種完美的材料，我們只有在自然界中才能找到。

Research has shown that human cells won't reject the spider, silk and rad keys.

研究表明，人體細胞不會排斥蜘蛛、絲綢和輻射鍵。

Team has found that silken simply dissolve into the human body after doing its job.

研究團隊發現，絲綢在做完工作後，根本就會溶入人體。

So the Spider said will be there for a certain time.

And afterwards it will be degraded by macro founders so it will disappear.

而後會被宏觀創始人退化，所以會消失。

So with all this possibility, the question is what has been done with these silks?

那麼有了這些可能，問題是這些絲綢都做了什麼？

There's still a lot of hesitation around spider silks, and the Food and Drug Administration still have yet to approve the bio material for use in the medical industry and beyond.

圍繞蜘蛛絲，人們還在猶豫不決，食品和藥物管理局仍未準許這種生物材料用於醫療行業及其他領域。

有些人乾脆認為這是有風險的。

We have to do clinical studies, and obviously as well.

我們要做臨床研究，顯然也是。

Financing spider silk is also extremely expensive to make, so businesses would need to discover another cheaper way to make it so all this research and then nothing.

融資蜘蛛絲的製作成本也非常高，所以企業需要發現另一種更便宜的方法，所以這些研究都是無功而返。

I think the whole idea of being able to design ah fiber with properties that we wanted tohave, rather than just taking what the spiders have given us so far, is also a big deal, and that work is still happening.

我認為，能夠設計出具有我們想要的特性的纖維，而不僅僅是拿蜘蛛目前給我們的東西，這個想法也是一個大問題，而且這項工作還在進行中。

Other startups are looking to use the silk in medicinal fields, military applications and even as bio fabrics for things like bullet proof clothes.

其他初創公司則希望將絲綢用於醫藥領域、軍事應用，甚至作為生物織物製作防彈衣等。

 So scientists can continue to learn from clothing, spider silks and designing the proteins, knowing that spider silks do hold a promising place in the future. 

所以，科學家們可以繼續從衣服、蜘蛛絲和設計蛋白質中學習，知道蜘蛛絲在未來確實有前途。