Amazing Design of Black Widow Web Silk | The Institute for Creation Research

Amazing Design of Black Widow Web Silk

Evidence for creation is seen in both the sudden origin1 of spiders, as demonstrated in the fossil record, and their amazing design.2 All spiders are created with four pairs of walking legs. Spider fossils are rare. Only about a thousand fossil species have been described worldwide. But they always display their iconic eight legs, remarkably complex eyesight organs and are, as creationists predict, 100% spiders. The Jurassic Period was supposedly 165 million years ago, and yet spider fossils found in Northern China show spiders have evolved very little since then. 3 This is because spiders didn’t evolve from an unknown non-spider ancestor—they evidentially didn’t evolve at all.

Evidence for creation is seen in both the sudden origin of spiders, as demonstrated in the fossil record, and their amazing design. Tweet: Evidence for creation is seen in both the sudden origin of spiders, as demonstrated in the fossil record, and their amazing design.

Amazing Design of Black Widow Web Silk: https://www.icr.org/article/amazing-design-of-black-widow-web-silk/

@ICRscience

#Science #Research

Although invertebrate zoologists have known the structure of spider-web fibers and the main sequence of amino acids that make up some spider-silk proteins, current research has further uncovered how black widow spiders (Latrodectus) produce their steel-strength silk webs.4 It’s not a simple process by any means,

Utilizing state-of-the-art techniques, the research team was able to more closely see inside the protein gland where the silk fibers originate, revealing a more complex, hierarchical protein assembly.4
 
The biologists went down to the nanoscale when they looked in the spider’s silk glands to determine “the storage, transformation and transportation process involved in proteins becoming fibers.”4 The key is in a supramolecular assembly of very tiny units called micelles. The researchers discovered that, even starting out, these micelles were both complex and compound, which was not predicted. They initially thought the black widow spider’s remarkable fibers originated from a random solution. Instead they found “hierarchical nano-assemblies (200 to 500 nanometers in diameter) of proteins stored in the spider’s abdomen.”
 
Researchers want to duplicate the spiders’ unique production of steel-strength fibers to make “equally strong synthetic materials” that would be used in “high-performance textiles for military, first responders and athletes; building materials for cable bridges and other construction; environmentally friendly replacements for plastics; and biomedical applications.”

Creationists give the Creator—not time and chance—credit and praise for designing spiders and their incredible silk production. Tweet: Creationists give the Creator…not time and chance…credit and praise for designing spiders and their incredible silk production.

Amazing Design of Black Widow Web Silk: https://www.icr.org/article/amazing-design-of-black-widow-web-silk/

@ICRscience

#Science #Research

Creationists give the Creator—not time and chance—credit and praise for designing spiders and their incredible silk production. Chance processes can’t create complexity no matter how long they try.
 
References
1. Sherwin, F. Spiders Have Always Been Spiders. Creation Science Update. Posted on ICR.org March 19, 2015, accessed November 9, 2018.
2. Thomas, B. Scientists Decode Key to Spider Web Strength. Posted on ICR.org March 19, 2012, accessed December 5, 2018; Thomas, B. The Masterful Design of Spider Webs. Posted on ICR.org March 30, 2012, accessed December 5, 2018; Sherwin, F. Spiral Wonder of the Spider Web. Posted on ICR.org May 1, 2006, accessed December 5, 2018.
3. Ghose, T. Stunningly Preserved 165-Million-Year-Old Spider Fossil Found. Wired. Posted on Wired.com February 9, 2010, accessed November 15, 2018.
4. Mystery of how black widow spiders create steel-strength silk webs further unravelled. ScienceDaily. Posted on ScienceDaily.com October 22, 2018, accessed November 15, 2018.
 
*Mr. Sherwin is Research Associate is at ICR. He has a master’s in zoology from the University of Northern Colorado.
 
Article posted on December 6, 2018.   

The Latest
NEWS
Confirmed New Record for Most Distant Galaxy
A galaxy with the designation MoM-z14 has recently been confirmed as the most distant galaxy ever detected.1,2 By Big Bang reckoning, we...

NEWS
Insect Eyes Reflect Creation
Research into insect eyes continues to reveal amazing structure and function. For example, although fruit flies’ eyes are attached firmly to their...

NEWS
February 2026 ICR Wallpaper
"Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD you God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you...

NEWS
Microgravity's Effect on Bacteriophages Is Not Evolution
The word evolution is often used imprecisely, leading the public to believe that any biological change is evolution, and, therefore, it’s a fact.1...

NEWS
Engineered for Extremes: The Hidden Precision of a Salt Lake...
Water that is nearly five times saltier than the ocean is deadly to most animals. But in Utah’s Great Salt Lake, scientists have found a tiny...

CREATION PODCAST
Giant Sequoias: Too Complex to Be Accidental | The Creation Podcast:...
What living thing grows taller than a 25-story building, survives raging wildfires, and actually depends on those fires to reproduce? Giant sequoias...

NEWS
Bound by Design: How a Universal Temperature Law Reveals Life’s...
What if every living creature—from coral reefs and cold-water fish to mountain flowers and desert reptiles—followed the same hidden temperature...

NEWS
The Flood Explains 18,000 Dinosaur Tracks in Bolivia
A new discovery of 18,000 individual dinosaur tracks in the Bolivian El Molino Formation contains the highest number of theropod dinosaur tracks in...

NEWS
Prolonged 40-Year Growth in T. Rex: Evidence for Pre-Flood Longevity?
An open access 2026 PeerJ research paper claims that T. rex took 40 years to reach its full adult body size, in contrast to a much shorter previous...

NEWS
Recent Discovery of a Strange Microbe Gives No Clues to Evolution
Research into God’s living creation is dynamic and always surprising. This is true whether one peers into the deepest reaches of space or dives...