By Courtney Miceli Nov. 20, 2018 , 8:00 AM. But that shouldn't stop us from studying it, or from thinking of it as a wonder material. The secret of spider silk's incredible strength revealed: Researchers find it is actually made up of over 2,500 'nanostrands' Strand of spider silk is … Spider silk is not stronger than steel. Spider silk is five times stronger than steel—now, scientists know why. The next time you brush aside a …