Using a new mathematical methodology, Professor Markus Buehler, graduate student Tristan Giesa, and mathematics postdoctoral associate David Spivak created a scientifically rigorous analogy showing the similarities between the physical structure of spider silk and the sonic structure of a musical composition, proving that the structure of each relates to its function in an equivalent way. The comparison begins with the primary building blocks of each item and explains that structural patterns are directly related to the functional properties of silk and a melodic riff. Read a news release.