When it comes to concocting the complex mix of molecules that makes up fibers of natural silk, nature beats human engineering hands down. Despite efforts to synthesize the material, artificial varieties still cannot match ...
Materials Science
Nov 9, 2017
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Spiderman would definitely have an easier time of things with this spider silk - for example, if he had to stop a getaway car moving off at 100 kilometres per hour. A five-millimetre-thick thread would do ...
Condensed Matter
Apr 24, 2009
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0
Spider silk has enormous potential in regenerative medicine thanks to being a natural fiber that is tough, stable, and biodegradable. Researchers have now produced double-sided spider silk fibers, which could provide damaged ...
Biochemistry
Feb 4, 2022
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124
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that people wear masks in public. Because N95 and surgical masks are scarce and should be reserved for health care workers, ...
Bio & Medicine
Apr 24, 2020
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Nature has evolved protein-based substances with mechanical properties that rival even the best synthetic materials. For example, pound for pound, spider silk is stronger and tougher than steel. But unlike steel, the natural ...
Materials Science
Apr 2, 2019
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150
Microscopic versions of the cocoons spun by silkworms have been manufactured by a team of researchers. The tiny capsules, which are invisible to the naked eye, can protect sensitive molecular materials, and could prove a ...
Materials Science
Jul 19, 2017
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71
Researchers at Tufts University's School of Engineering have developed a new bioinspired technique that transforms silk protein into complex materials that are easily programmable at the nano-, micro- and macro-scales as ...
Nanophysics
Feb 27, 2017
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18
Why have we never been able to manufacture fibers as strong and tough as the silks spun by silkworms and spiders?
Materials Science
Aug 21, 2015
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(Phys.org)—Researchers at the University of Virginia School of Medicine have deciphered the secrets of the production of cellulose, the most common natural polymer on Earth, in a discovery that could have major ramifications ...
Biotechnology
Dec 14, 2012
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Pound for pound, spider silk is one of the strongest materials known: Research by MIT's Markus Buehler has helped explain that this strength arises from silk's unusual hierarchical arrangement of protein building blocks.
Materials Science
Nov 28, 2012
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