Spider silk is the holy grail of biomaterials. It’s amazingly tough and lightweight, and can be used in everything from violin strings to electronics. Unfortunately, spiders cannot produce enough of it for it to be commercially viable, which is why researchers have created a prototype process that mimics the natural spinning process of spiders. The process works by breeding an artificial spider silk protein in bacteria that can then be bred to produce industrial quantities of web material. Then, using a spinning apparatus, the researchers can then create kilometer-long strands of silk. The process has already been successfully tested, and could be used for manufacturing in the near future.
Researchers successfully produce large quantities of synthetic spider silk
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