Eco-Friendly Technique Spins Super-Strong Artificial Spider Silk

Researchers have designed a super stretchy, strong and sustainable material that mimics

the qualities of spider silk, and is 'spun' from a material that is 98 percent water. Credit: University of Cambridge With the new "Spider-Man" movie breaking all kinds of box office records this week, the time seems right for an update on laboratory preparation of synthetic spider silk. And whaddyaknow — as luck would have it, researchers say they’ve developed a technique for generating super-strong, artificial spider silk using environmentally friendly manufacturing processes. That last part is critical, because existing methods for making stretchy and strong fibers often require high-energy expenditures or toxic solvents. The new technique can produce synthetic spider silk at room temperature using only water and naturally occurring substances.