The Secrets of Spiderwebs

On this week's news update...

Spider Webs

The secrets of spider webs...

Antibiotic Challenge

Antibiotics face a challenge...

Fastest Sailboat

And the world's fastest sailboat!

First up...

Spiders weave webs to catch their prey. Produced from very fine silk, the webs that spiders produce are some of the strongest natural structures in the world.

Now, scientists are researching the exact process spiders follow to create their complex webs.

Recording the thousands of individual movements a spider makes to weave a web is very difficult to do by hand. So, scientists have used a specialized camera to record each individual movement a spider makes over several hours as it spins a web.

The web weaving movements of 6 spiders have been recorded, and the recordings analyzed by a computer program. Studying the results, the scientists discovered that all 6 spiders followed exactly the same pattern when creating a web!

They are now eager to find out if a set of web weaving rules could be buried deep in spiders' brains.

Next up...

There are many health challenges that need to be addressed around the world.

One such challenge is a phenomenon called “antibiotic resistance.”

antiobiotic resistance

Antibiotics are medicines that are used to treat illnesses caused by germs called “bacteria.” For example, they might be used to treat an upset stomach caused by a bacterial infection, or to treat a bacterial skin rash.

But in recent years, some bacteria have adapted to defend themselves against antibiotics. This means that certain illnesses can't be treated as effectively. So taking a course of antibiotics may no longer clear away an infection.

It is estimated that each year, 2.8 million people around the world are infected with bacteria that resist antibiotic treatment. Scientists believe that because the use of antibiotics has become so common, bacteria are increasingly developing ways to avoid being destroyed by them.

To tackle the problem, medical researchers will need to produce new forms of antibiotics that destroy bacteria in new ways.

These new medicines will enable doctors to continue treating many common illnesses, and allow patients to return to good health with the help of these important medicines!

And finally...

For centuries, humans have harnessed the power of the wind to sail the seas.

Now, a team of engineering students are pushing sailing technology to its limits by designing the world's fastest sailboat!

The cutting-edge boat consists of two main parts: a lightweight carbon fiber body that sits on the water, and a sail—or kite wing—that is attached to the boat via a cable.

The engineers have spent several years refining their design and testing prototypes.

Measuring 20 meters wide, the sail is designed to capture enough wind to propel the sleek boat through the water at 150 kilometers per hour!

The boat's final design will be finished early next year, and its creators hope it will sail fast enough to break the current sailboat speed record!

That's all for this week, we'll see you next time!