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Added: 2026-05-05

[00:00:01][music] >> Scientists have reprogrammed a spider.

[00:00:10]The results are [music] striking.

[00:00:13]It sounds like science fiction, but it's already reality. German [music] researchers are the first in the world to use CRISPR a Cas9 [music] technology to modify a spider's genome.

[00:00:27]The result a red glowing thread [music] that could revolutionize future materials from regenerative medicine [music] to biodegradable implants.

[00:00:39]CRISPR a Cas9 technology [music] has been transforming the world of molecular biology for over a decade, enabling [music] precise genome editing in plants, animals, and even humans.

[00:00:53]Until now, however, >> [music] >> spiders have remained beyond the reach of genetic engineering.

[00:01:00]All that changed [music] thanks to a team from the University of Bayreuth, which conducted [music] a pioneering experiment involving Parasteatoda tepidariorum, a common house spider found in Europe and North America.

[00:01:15]Scientists not only successfully [music] modified its genome, but also achieved permanent changes in the material produced by the spider, >> [music] >> silk, which glows red under UV light.

[00:01:29]To achieve this, they used microinjection.

[00:01:33]A DNA [music] fragment encoding a fluorescent protein was injected into unfertilized female eggs, after which the females [music] were mated with males.

[00:01:44]The offspring of these pairs produced silk with significantly altered optical properties >> [music] >> without disrupting its mechanical structure.

[00:01:54]For the first time in the world, we have [music] shown that the CRISPR a Cas9 technique can be used to insert a precisely designed gene into the spider silk protein sequence, [music] enabling its functionalization.

[00:02:10]Spider silk has long been considered one of the most extraordinary [music] biological materials.

[00:02:18]Lighter than cotton, yet stronger than steel for the same weight, resistant to stretching, [music] and completely biodegradable, it appears to be an ideal raw material for future applications.

[00:02:32]However, the difficulties [music] of breeding spiders and their territorial and cannibalistic behavior mean that most research has focused on synthetic silk production using bacteria, plants, [music] or silkworms.

[00:02:47]After many years, scientists [music] have proven that it's possible to modify the spiders themselves in a way that changes the properties of their threads.

[00:02:58]>> [music] >> And not just color-wise, as in the case of red fluorescence, but potentially also [music] mechanically and functionally.

[00:03:07]Subsequent iterations could lead to increased thread strength, electrical conductivity, or applications in photonics. [music] The red silk experiment was just one side of the coin.

[00:03:21]The second important element of the research was the so-called [music] CRISPR KO, or genetic silencing of a selected gene.

[00:03:32]The researchers focused on the so gene, which was hypothesized to be responsible for eye development in spiders.

[00:03:41]Its blocking caused the bred individuals to be born [music] without eyes, clearly confirming its crucial role in the process of [music] embryogenesis.

[00:03:51]While it may sound like an experiment straight from Dr. Frankenstein's [music] laboratory, this study was purely exploratory in nature. It allows [music] for a better understanding of the anatomy and genetics of spiders, >> [music] >> which, despite their widespread nature, remain among the least studied invertebrates in terms [music] of genetics.

[00:04:13]The German researchers' achievement isn't limited to a flashy fluorescence trick. [music] It's a potential platform for a new class of biomaterials.

[00:04:25]Imagine surgical [music] threads that change color upon contact with infection, fabrics that self-heal when exposed [music] to light, or biosensors embedded in medical implants.

[00:04:38]Silk with modified properties could [music] find applications in tissue engineering, where it serves as a scaffold for cell growth, but also in future electronics as [music] a conductor in ultra-flexible systems.

[00:04:53]In this context, fluorescence is just the first step towards functionalizing a material [music] whose evolution has taken millions of years.

[00:05:04]The results of Professor Scheibel's team's work have been published in the journal Angewandte Chemie International Edition.

[00:05:13]>> [music] >> Although the project focuses on a single species, the method itself could eventually be adapted to other spiders, producing even stronger silk. [music] >> [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] >> What the What the What the What the >> [music] >> What the What the What the What the [music] What the What the >> [music] >> What the What the What the >> [music] >> What the What the What the What the What the >> [music] >> What the What the What the What the What the >> [music] >> What the What the What the What the What the