Spider silk has long fascinated the west.

蛛丝久已让西方人着迷。

Spider silks all start out in the same way: as a wet and sticky substance.

一种又湿又黏的物质。

Each strand of spider silk is 1,000 times thinner than a strand of human hair.

蜘蛛丝比人类头发细 1000 倍。

Spider silk is very biocompatible, very good for wound healing, especially for wounds of the eye and the brain.

蛛丝具有很强的生物相容性，对伤口愈合非常有好处，尤其是对眼睛和大脑的伤口。

Spider silk was mainly used by the Betsileo to make the large prevail blankets to wrap it in.

巴茨里奥人主要用蛛丝来做流行的大披毯。

And it's this -- it's spider silk.

那就是蛛丝。

Hayashi has been studying spider silk for about 20 years.

林研究蜘蛛丝已有20年的时间。

Nobody knows how many kinds of spider silks exist.

没有人知道世上存在多少种蜘蛛丝。

For me, the scarf of spider silk is a priceless gift.

这条蛛丝围巾对我来说是无价之宝。

With its antimicrobial properties, spider silk has potential medical uses, too.

蛛丝具有抗菌功能，所以它还能用于医药。

Could your future closet be full of spider silk and lab grown leather?

你未来的衣橱里是否装满了蜘蛛丝和实验室培育的皮革?

So we knew then that the spider silk was sort of an ideal sound sensor.

所以我们知道了蜘蛛丝是一种理想的声音传感器。

CRANE (voice-over): Spider silk is surprisingly strong, making it in a factory starts by isolating the proteins that make it so stuff.

卡拉内(画外音): 蜘蛛丝惊人的结实，在工厂里制造它首先要分离那些制造它的蛋白质。

And he thought maybe a fine spider web or spider silk could act as a sound sensor.

他想，也许一张精细的蜘蛛网或蜘蛛丝可以充当声音传感器。

So far, researchers have created silkworms that carry the spider silk gene.

迄今，研究者已经培育出带有蛛丝基因的蚕。

It has enabled scientists to study the protein that makes up spider silk and even reproduce it artificially.

这使得科学家们能够研究构成蛛丝的蛋白质，甚至人工复制。

But the worms don't produce spider silk, either, just better silkworm silk.

不过这些蚕也不能生产出蛛丝，它们仅能生产出更好的蚕丝。

So if we're going to harness the power of spider silk, we have to find ways to manufacture it.

所以，如果我们要利用蛛丝的性能，我们必须想办法实现人工制造。

We could make all sorts of things out of spider silk, like bridge cables, bulletproof vests, airplanes, and biodegradable bottles.

我们可以用蜘蛛丝做各种各样的东西，比如桥缆、防弹背心、飞机、可降解的瓶子等等。

Silkworm silk is tough, but spider silk is stronger and stretchier, and in theory should be much more versatile.

蚕丝很坚韧，但蛛丝更结实也更有弹性，理论上应用范围也应该更广。