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Teachers TV
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These resources have been reviewed and selected by STEM Learning’s team of education specialists for factual accuracy and relevance to teaching STEM subjects in UK schools.
The Secrets of Spider Silk
From Teachers TV, this Inside Science video looks at an exploration into the properties of spider silk, a super material found in nature which has presented scientists with a real challenge to synthesize.
For decades, chemists, geneticists, and bio-engineers have been trying to produce synthetic spider silk. It is environmentally friendly, produced at room temperatures and is biodegradable. Spider silk is up to five times stronger than steel, as strong as Kevlar and very flexible. In the future, genetically-engineered artificial spider silk may even be used for the building of a suspension bridge.
The video illustrates how scientists are researching this amazing material. It can be used to show how science works and interesting careers in science.
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