Real Spider-Man Web Shooters: Science Friction Ep 25

How close are we to to having our own set of Spider-man web shooters? Since the Amazing Spider-Man 2 is coming to theaters I thought we should find out. This is Science Friction, the series where fantasy meets reality and I breakdown the real science behind comic book and sci-fi superheroes. Tell me what superpower you want. Links to sources below.

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Biomimetics and the Engineering of Spider Silk
https://illumin.usc.edu/printer/13/biomimetics-engineering-spider-silk/

The Future of Industrial Spider Silk
http://cen.acs.org/articles/92/i9/Spider-Silk-Poised-Commercial-Entry.html

Chemical Structure of Spider Silk
http://www.chm.bris.ac.uk/motm/spider/page3.htm

How Spiders make Silk - Discover Magazine
http://discovermagazine.com/1998/oct/howspidersmaketh1531

How Spiders make Silk - Live Science
http://www.livescience.com/32582-how-do-spiders-make-silk.html

Fritz Vollrath on a Life of Studying Spiders - The Guardian
http://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/jan/12/fritz-vollrath-spiders-tim-adams

Spider Silk Properties
http://www.chm.bris.ac.uk/motm/spider/page2.htm

How Thick a Spider Silk Thread has to be to Stop a Boeing in Mid-Flight
http://ednieuw.home.xs4all.nl/Spiders/Info/SilkBoeing.html

The Spider's Success Story
http://australianmuseum.net.au/Silk-the-spiders-success-story


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DhEssy3NWw