THE ultra-strong glue that spiders use to trap their prey has given up some of its genetic secrets, raising the hope that similar substances could one day be synthesised to produce surgical adhesives.
The glue, which the spider secretes onto the central prey-capturing spiral threads of its web, is known to be based on a complex sugary polymer called a glycoprotein. But no one knew how this supersticky molecule did its job, or which genes coded for it.
Now Omer Choresh and colleagues at the University of Wyoming in Laramie have some clues. They took glue-secreting cells from the glands…
