Researchers at Utah State University are using silkworm silk to grow skeletal muscle cells, improving on traditional methods of cell culture and hopefully leading to better treatments for muscle atrophy.
Materials Science
Mar 10, 2021
0
645
How do you test, in early-stage research, whether a potential pharmaceutical effectively targets a human tumor, organ, or some other part of the body? How do you grow a new hand or another body part? Researchers are in the ...
Materials Science
Oct 8, 2020
0
9
Spiders—what are they good for? The answer, it turns out, is more than just insect control.
Condensed Matter
Jun 30, 2020
0
267
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
0
150
UConn researchers have created a biodegradable composite made of silk fibers that can be used to repair broken load-bearing bones without the complications sometimes presented by other materials.
Materials Science
Apr 19, 2018
0
237
New research has demonstrated how the nano-architecture of a silkworm's fiber causes "Anderson localization of light," a discovery that could lead to various innovations and a better understanding of light transport and heat ...
Materials Science
Jan 31, 2018
0
378
The last time you watched a spider drop from the ceiling on a line of silk, it likely descended gracefully on its dragline instead of spiraling uncontrollably, because spider silk has an unusual ability to resist twisting ...
Condensed Matter
Jul 7, 2017
0
163
Spiders build webs, shelters and egg sacs from fine tough silk fibers. To apply these fibers, they must be properly attached to substrates or other threads and must cope with loading in highly-variable directions.
Plants & Animals
Apr 13, 2017
0
4
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
0
18
Although mankind has been using silk for millennia, many aspects of its properties and molecular structure remain unknown. Now, a new study from the RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science (CSRS) in Japan reveals that ...
Materials Science
Jun 9, 2016
0
21
