The velvet worm is pretty cute as invertebrate predators go . A leathery R-2 of an animate being with a blurred , velvet - like grain . It has two transmitting aerial progress to it bet a bit likeZuul , but when it ’s time to fight , it get inspiration fromSpiderman .

Velvet worms are sensible to strain electric current , so despite being almost unreasoning they know when a serious meal is within compass . To bewitch it , they rise up and brandish two appendage like a cowboy in a Western , firing Scottish reel of deadly silly string - a sort of slime that has fascinated scientist for years . Why ? Because it deport unlike any othergoowe see in nature .

This liquid - to - solid transformation is very strange and faster than the better - known silk spinning by spiders .

“ It is lay in as a viscous liquidness in a specialized gland , from which it is rapidly squirt outside the torso from their specialised ‘ oral papillae ’ , ” saidProfessor Ali Miserez , Nanyang Technological University , Singapore , to IFLScience . “ Within a few seconds , this gummy liquidity ( the slime ) transforms into a smashed and glassy fiber . This liquid - to - hearty transformation is very unusual and faster than the well - acknowledge silk spinning by spiders for lesson . ”

“ Once the slime has fully solidified into an entrapping mesh ( to capture prey ) , it is as stiff as synthetical nylon , but what is really singular is that if one soaks the solidified slime in water , over a few hours it will re - dissolve into a viscous solution . From this solvent , fibers can be re - pull in . So , the intact operation is quotable , and the fibers are fully recyclable . This provide a neat biomimicry example to produce the next generation of non - toxic , fully biodegradable bioplastics . ”

We ’ve known about these unique characteristic of velvet insect gunk for a while , but in recent years , team have been trying to get to the bottom of what it is about this sludge that make it comport in such an strange mode . A few years back , we made it as far as working out that protein make up most of the slime , but they had n’t yet been identify or sequenced .

Since we have base this protein in freestanding velvet dirt ball metal money that vary nearly 400 million days ago , this means that this different biological function is very ancient from an evolutionary perspective .

Now , a team including Miserez has discovered that the main component of velvet worm slime is a group of leucine - fertile repeat ( LRR ) protein , which resemble a folk of protein called toll - alike receptors ( TLRs ) . The study identified how specific LRR proteins interact to make the fiber web that gives velvet worm goo its unequaled properties , but it also turn up unexpected insight into the biological functions of these protein group .

In biology , TLRs recreate cardinal role in the immune arrangement , embryonic development , and nervous function . Now , the researchers have uncovered a surprising twist in finding that these TLR - like LRR protein serve a structural role , acting as molecular gum that bandage other goo protein together . This gainsay previous presumptuousness about their biological occasion and expands our understanding of how these proteins can work in nature .

“ In this new research , we have unveiled a very different part of TLR proteins : they act a geomorphological , mechanical role : essentially , they can be get a line as a variety of ' glue protein ' at the molecular level that get together many other slime protein to shape the macroscopical fibers , ” explain Miserez . “ Since we have found this protein in separate velvet worm species that diverged nearly 400 million year ago , this means that this dissimilar biologic social function is very ancient from an evolutionary perspective . ”

Now that we ’ve bring out this ancient economize molecular mechanism for roughage constitution , the research worker hope it could pave the way of life for newfangled and sustainablematerials inspired by nature . Not uncollectible for a teeny-weeny velvet worm .

The study is publish in the journalPNAS .