Spider-Man-inspired sticky silk fibers lift 80 times their weight

It’s straight out of a comic book: a shot of liquid silk quickly hardens into a sticky, strong fiber that can lift objects 80 times heavier. Sound familiar? Researchers have described the Spider-Man-inspired tech in a new study.Continue ReadingCategory… Continue reading Spider-Man-inspired sticky silk fibers lift 80 times their weight

Special silk sheets suppress sound by giving off good vibrations

There may be new hope for people with noisy neighbors. Scientists at MIT have developed a method of using thin sheets of fabric to either cancel or block sound – in the latter case, the racket even gets reflected back to its maker.Continue ReadingCateg… Continue reading Special silk sheets suppress sound by giving off good vibrations

Mussels and silkworms ally to thwart internal bleeding and infection

Mussels and silkworms may soon be indirectly responsible for saving people’s lives. Scientists have used proteins from both animals to develop an internal wound dressing that stops bleeding and prevents infections.Continue ReadingCategory: Medical, Sci… Continue reading Mussels and silkworms ally to thwart internal bleeding and infection

Artificial spider gland spins scalable spider silk just like nature

The complex molecular structure of spider silk has been successfully copied as scientists spin silk from an artificial gland that mimics nature’s process of producing one of the world’s toughest fibers. Scientists believe this breakthrough is a huge st… Continue reading Artificial spider gland spins scalable spider silk just like nature

Velozzi Hypercar will have a body boosted by spider silk

Spider silk is widely known to be one of nature’s strongest and toughest materials. If everything works out as intended, an alfalfa-produced synthetic version of the stuff will be used in the construction of the Velozzi Hypercar … only 100 of which wil… Continue reading Velozzi Hypercar will have a body boosted by spider silk

Bionic silkworms with spider genes spin fibers 6x tougher than Kevlar

For the first time, scientists have successfully produced full-length spider silk fibers using genetically modified silkworms. With high strength and toughness, this silk has the potential to provide a scalable, sustainable and better-quality alternati… Continue reading Bionic silkworms with spider genes spin fibers 6x tougher than Kevlar

Spider, silkworm silk combined to create new nerve-repairing material

Current methods for repairing injured nerves can be hit-and-miss and are restricted to repair over short distances. For the first time, researchers have combined two kinds of silk to create a promising biocompatible method of regenerating injured nerve… Continue reading Spider, silkworm silk combined to create new nerve-repairing material

Silk-microparticle dots could help thwart seed counterfeiters

Just like pharmaceuticals, banknotes and alcoholic beverages, the crop seeds sold to farmers are frequently counterfeits. MIT scientists have devised a method of spotting the fakes, by tagging genuine seeds with silk dots.Continue ReadingCategory: Good… Continue reading Silk-microparticle dots could help thwart seed counterfeiters

Silkworm inspires quicker, simpler method of nanofiber production

Nanofibers have recently been utilized in many applications, ranging from wound dressings to air filters to high-strength composite materials. Scientists have now developed a faster and simpler method of producing those fibers, which was inspired by th… Continue reading Silkworm inspires quicker, simpler method of nanofiber production