Spider-Man made his first appearance in Marvel comics over 62 years ago and has since been featured in comics, cartoons, and live-action movies. In almost every version, Peter Parker uses a special web fluid that he shoots from wrist devices he designed himself. The only exception is in the Sam Raimi movies with Tobey Maguire, where his webs are biological. But aside from that, the official story says Peter created the web fluid.
The idea of a human swinging between buildings on web-like fluid seemed like pure fantasy—until now.
Researchers at Tufts University have developed a web fluid that shoots out as a liquid but turns into a sticky substance when it hits the air, strong enough to lift up to 80 times its weight.
This breakthrough comes from using silk from moth cocoons. The team boiled the silk to extract a protein called silk fibroin. By combining this with dopamine, they found it created a powerful adhesive effect. The dopamine pulls out water, turning the silk into a strong, sticky material.
The next step? Shooting it out like Spider-Man. The researchers discovered that the material can be sprayed from a needle and solidifies in the air when hit with acetone. The resulting “web” sticks to almost anything and is strong enough to lift or pull objects.
“We’re showing how to shoot a fiber from a device and pick up objects from a distance,” said Marco Lo Presti, an assistant professor on the team. “It’s not just bio-inspired, but superhero-inspired.”
It’s incredible to see how science is turning superhero fiction into reality!
