83 Passage 1 - Spider Silk 2 Q1-13

Passage 1 Spider silk 2
SECTION 1
READING PASSAGE 1
You should spend about 20 minutes on Question 1-13 which are based on Reading
Passage 1 below.
Spider silk 2
A strong, light bio-material made by genes from spiders could transform construction
and industry
A
Scientists have succeeded in copying the silk-producing genes of the Golden Orb Weaver
spider and are using them to create a synthetic material which they believe is the model
for a new generation of advanced bio-materials. The new material, biosilk, which has
been spun for the first time by researchers at DuPont, has an enormous range of
potential uses in construction and manufacturing.
B
The attraction of the silk spun by the spider is a combination of great strength and
enormous elasticity, which man-made fibres have been unable to replicate. On an
equal-weight basis, spider silk is far stronger than steel and it is estimated that if a single
strand could be made about 10m in diameter, it would be strong enough to stop a
jumbo jet in flight. A third important factor is that it is extremely light. Army scientists
are already looking at the possibilities of using it for lightweight, bulletproof vests and
parachutes.
C
For some time, biochemists have been trying to synthesise the drag-line silk of the
Golden Orb Weaver. The drag-line silk, which forms the radial arms of the web, is
stronger than the other parts of the web and some biochemists believe a synthetic
version could prove to be as important a material as nylon, which has been around for
50 years, since the discoveries of Wallace Carothers and his team ushered in the age of
polymers.
D
To recreate the material, scientists, including Randolph Lewis at the University of
Wyoming, first examined the silk-producing gland of the spider. ‘We took out the glands
1
that produce the silk and looked at the coding for the protein material they make, which
is spun into a web. We then went looking for clones with the right DNA,’ he says.
E
At DuPont, researchers have used both yeast and bacteria as hosts to grow the raw
material, which they have spun into fibres. Robert Dorsch, DuPont’s director of
biochemical development, says the globules of protein, comparable with marbles in an
egg, are harvested and processed. ‘We break open the bacteria, separate out the
globules of protein and use them as the raw starting material. With yeast, the gene
system can be designed so that the material excretes the protein outside the yeast for
better access,’ he says.
F
‘The bacteria and the yeast produce the same protein, equivalent to that which the
spider uses in the draglines of the web. The spider mixes the protein into a water-based
solution and then spins it into a solid fibre in one go. Since we are not as clever as the
spider and we are not using such sophisticated organisms, we substituted man-made
approaches and dissolved the protein in chemical solvents, which are then spun to push
the material through small holes to form the solid fibre.’
G
Researchers at DuPont say they envisage many possible uses for a new biosilk material.
They say that earthquake-resistant suspension bridges hung from cables of synthetic
spider silk fibres may become a reality. Stronger ropes, safer seat belts, shoe soles that
do not wear out so quickly and tough new clothing are among the other applications.
Biochemists such as Lewis see the potential range of uses of biosilk as almost limitless.
‘It is very strong and retains elasticity: there are no man-made materials that can mimic
both these properties. It is also a biological material with all the advantages that have
over petrochemicals,’ he says.
H
At DuPont’s laboratories, Dorsch is excited by the prospect of new super-strong
materials but he warns they are many years away. ‘We are at an early stage but
theoretical predictions are that we will wind up with a very strong, tough material, with
an ability to absorb shock, which is stronger and tougher than the man-made materials
that are conventionally available to us,’ he says.
2
I
The spider is not the only creature that has aroused the interest of material scientists.
They have also become envious of the natural adhesive secreted by the sea mussel. It
produces a protein adhesive to attach itself to rocks. It is tedious and expensive to
extract the protein from the mussel, so researchers have already produced a synthetic
gene for use in surrogate bacteria.
Questions 1-5
Reading Passage 1 has nine paragraphs, A-I
Which paragraph contains the following information?
Write the correct letter, A-I, in boxes 1-5 on your answer sheet.
1 a comparison of the ways two materials are used to replace silk-producing glands
2 predictions regarding the availability of the synthetic silk
3 ongoing research into other synthetic materials
4 the research into the part of the spider that manufactures silk
5 the possible application of the silk in civil engineering
3
Questions 6-10
Complete the flow-chart below.
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 6-10 on your answer sheet.
Synthetic gene grown in 6 ……………… or 7…………………..
↓
globules of 8 ……………….
↓
dissolved in 9 ………………..
↓
passed through 10 …………………
↓
to produce a solid fibre
Questions 11-13
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1?
In boxes 11-13 on your answer sheet, write
TRUE if the statement is true
FALSE if the statement is false
NOT GIVEN if the information is not given in the passage
11 Biosilk has already replaced nylon in parachute manufacture.

12 The spider produces silk of varying strengths.
13 Lewis and Dorsch co-operated in the synthetic production of silk
4
ANSWER
1. E
2. H
3. I
4. D
5. G
6. yeast
7. bacteria
8. protein
9. chemical
10. holes
11. FALSE
12. TRUE
13. NOT GIVEN

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Passage 1 Spider silk 2

Synthetic gene grown in 6 ……………… or 7…………………..

11 Biosilk has already replaced nylon in parachute manufacture.

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