Hairy spider skins could be used to soak up oil spills

摘要

A SEA of floating, shed tarantula skins might be an arachnophobe's nightmare, but the moults of these spiders could help mop up ocean oil spills. Spider skin is mainly made of chitin, a biopolymer that is also found in the tough exoskeletons of crustaceans. Chitin from crustaceans is widely used to clean up oil spills, as its molecular structure soaks up the oil.