Spider silk consists of fiber-forming proteins, stored by the spider in a specialized gland. When the spider needs silk, for instance to build a web, it extrudes the silk proteins through a long duct in which they are exposed ...
Materials Science
Nov 4, 2019
0
33
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
Spider silk is one of the toughest fibres in nature and has astounding properties. Scientists from the University of Würzburg discovered new molecular details of self-assembly of a spider silk fibre protein.
Materials Science
Dec 7, 2018
1
258
A group of scientists led by researchers from the RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science (CSRS) have examined the soluble precursor of spider silk and found that a previously undiscovered structural element is key ...
Materials Science
May 29, 2018
0
64
Possibly the strongest hybrid silk fibers to date have been created by scientists in Sweden using all-renewable resources. Combining spider silk proteins with nanocellulose from wood, the process offers a low-cost and scalable ...
Nanomaterials
May 18, 2017
0
17
Our muscles are amazing structures. With the trigger of a thought, muscle filaments slide past each other and bundles of contracting fibers pull on the bones moving our bodies. The triggered stretching behavior of muscle ...
Materials Science
Jan 31, 2017
0
210
Supple, light and biodegradable but stronger than steel: researchers said Monday they have succeeded in producing synthetic spider silk, one of nature's strongest materials.
Biochemistry
Jan 9, 2017
1
825
Building up proteins from scratch, rather than piecing together fragments of existing proteins, could make designing new nanomaterials easier.
Biotechnology
Aug 30, 2016
0
9
While working to improve a tool that measures the pushes and pulls sensed by proteins in living cells, biophysicists at Johns Hopkins say they've discovered one reason spiders' silk is so elastic: Pieces of the silk's protein ...
Nanomaterials
Feb 15, 2016
0
320
Synthetic spider silk holds promise as a leading biomaterial of the future with its unrivaled combination of strength and elasticity. Utah State University researchers, guided by USTAR Biology Professor Randy Lewis, have ...
Materials Science
Apr 6, 2015
0
118
