Spider silk is prized for its unrivaled strength and toughness. But figuring out a way to mass-produce it is no easy feat. Spiders cannot be put to work to pump out the fibers the way silkworms can: ...

Spiders hold the market for the strongest silks but are too aggressive and territorial to be farmed. The next best alternative involves incorporating spider DNA into silkworms, an expensive and ...

Silkworms have been genetically engineered with CRISPR to produce pure spider silk for the first time. The worms could offer a scalable way to create things like surgical thread or bulletproof vests ...

Spider silk—six times tougher than Kevlar and stronger than steel—has now been produced by an unexpected source. Spider silk is a biological protein fiber spun by spiders. Many of these fibers have ...

Spider silk is an unparalleled material: It’s strong and tough, yet also lightweight and flexible. But getting spiders to mass-produce their silk for commercial purposes has proven nearly impossible.

Researchers have successfully produced the first full-length spider silk by genetically modifying silkworms using CRISPR, a significant advancement for the sustainable production of lightweight ...

Silk fabric has been one of the most coveted goods ever since the days of the world's oldest civilizations. From its creation in Ancient China at least 8,500 years ago to today, the rich feeling of ...

Dissolving silkworm silk and remaking it in a solution of sugar and zinc and iron metal ions has made it stronger than most spider silk, one of the toughest and strongest materials in nature. There ...

Silk craft villages have dotted Vietnam for hundreds of years. They make silk by hand in a tedious, 30-step process. Craftspeople feed the silkworms every four hours so they spin brilliantly yellow ...