In a first, genetically modified silkworms produced pure spider silk

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/first-genetically-modified-silkworms-spider-silk

32 points · 2 comments · view on lemmy.world

2 Comments

fusio@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 2y (1 reply)

looking forward to spidersilk garments

perestroika@slrpnk.net · 2 pts · 2y

...and space elevator cables - but alas, for that an even stronger material is needed. :)

The toughest spider silk, made by Darwin's bark spider, allows the critters to weave webs over a river. If Kevlar as a known quantity has a tensile strength of 3.6 GPa, then this material, described as 10 times tougher, would be 36 GPa. Carbon nanotubes are 63 GPa, and they are considered insufficient. :(