“All natural” just got a bit more interesting. Companies Polartec, provider of sustainable textile solutions, and Kraig Biocraft Laboratories, a biotechnology company centered on the development and ...

Silk proteins generated by bacteria engineered to convert polyethylene into this multipurpose material. Credit: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Move over Spider-Man: Researchers at Rensselaer ...

Understanding how the stretching process strengthens spider silk is a key part of helping design stronger, biodegradable, silk-inspired materials for various applications. When spiders spin their webs ...

In a new study, Northwestern University researchers have discovered why the role of stretching is so important. By simulating ...

In the world of material engineering, two key concepts are material strength and extensibility. Strength is mostly self-explanatory, but extensibility allows for a material to be extended or stretched ...

As materials go, spider silk is pretty darn interesting. With its combination of tensile strength, toughness, and ductility, it’s one of nature’s most impressive inventions. It’s incredibly versatile, ...

The number of times I have walked into a spider web is pretty comical. At first, I saw them as a nuisance during my forest adventures, but upon a closer look with my macro lens, I began to notice that ...

Researchers report on a new model for spider silk assembly. The key to spider silk 'spinning' is a combination of acidification and a process known as liquid-liquid phase separation, or LLPS. Of all ...