Eco-Friendly Technique Spins Super-Strong Artificial Spider Silk
Posted by woow
Posted on August 17, 2017
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.
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