A5087687251- Silk-based biomaterials and applications
- Insect and Arachnid Ecology and Behavior
- Adhesion, Friction, and Surface Interactions
- Silkworms and Sericulture Research
- Neurobiology and Insect Physiology Research
- Polymer Surface Interaction Studies
- Gear and Bearing Dynamics Analysis
- Surface Modification and Superhydrophobicity
- Force Microscopy Techniques and Applications
- Tendon Structure and Treatment
- Paleontology and Evolutionary Biology
Universität Greifswald
2024
University of Trento
2019-2022
University of Turin
2017-2019
Physical structures built by animals challenge our understanding of biological processes and inspire the development smart materials green architecture. It is thus indispensable to understand drivers, constraints, dynamics that lead emergence modification building behavior. Here, we demonstrate spider web diversification repeatedly followed strikingly similar evolutionary trajectories, guided physical constraints. We found evolution suspended webs intercept flying prey coincided with small...
Spider silk is a tough and versatile biological material combining high tensile strength extensibility through nanocomposite structure its nonlinear elastic behaviour. Notably, spiders rarely use single fibres in isolation, but instead process them into more complex composites, such as fibre bundles, sheets anchorages, involving combination of spinneret, leg body movements. While the properties have been extensively studied, mechanical composites meta-structures are poorly understood exhibit...
Silk anchors of orb web spiders exhibit outstanding mechanical robustness with minimal material use by the indirect attachment silk line to substrate through a soft domain (‘bridge’) – principle usable design new systems.
Abstract It has been shown in recent years that many species Nature employ hierarchy and contact splitting as a strategy to enhance the adhesive properties of their attachments. Maximizing force is however not only goal. Many animals can achieve tunable force, which allows them both strongly attach surface easily detach when necessary. Here, we study 3D dendritic attachments, are structures widely occurring nature allow these goals. These exploit branching provide high variability geometry,...