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Bionic silkworms produce full-length fibers
October 9th, 2023
Transgenic silkworms have produced fibers that have both high strength and toughness. Photo: Junpeng Mi. For the first time, scientists have successfully produced full-length spider silk fibers using genetically modified silkworms. Newatlas.com reports that this silk has the potential to provide a scalable, sustainable and better-quality alternative to current synthetic fibers like nylon. “Silkworm silk […]
New method to create engineered silk announced
May 8th, 2023
Scientists have long been intrigued by the remarkable properties of spider silk, which is stronger than steel, yet incredibly lightweight and flexible. Now, Fuzhong Zhang, professor of energy, environmental and chemical engineering at Washington University, St. Louis, has made a significant breakthrough in the fabrication of synthetic spider silk, potentially offering a new era of […]
Artificial spider silk could be scaled up for industrial use
October 25th, 2021
Spider silk fibers were developed by Anna Rising's research group at the Karolinska Institutet. Photo: Benjamin Schmuck Spider silk is one of the strongest materials available and researchers have long tried to develop artificial spider silk, in particular for medical and industrial use. In a study published in Materials Today, researchers at the Karolinska Institutet and […]
Stronger engineered spider silk created
August 9th, 2021
A Spun polymeric amyloid fiber. Photo: Jingyao Li. Spider silk is said to be one of the strongest, toughest materials on earth. Now engineers at Washington University in St. Louis have designed amyloid silk hybrid proteins and produced them in engineered bacteria. The resulting fibers are even stronger and tougher than some natural spider silks. […]
Kraig Biocraft readies shipment for spider silk production
November 2nd, 2020
Kraig Biocraft Laboratories Inc. has announced that it has completed production and genetic screening of its latest batch of spider silk silkworm eggs. These specialized silkworm eggs are now ready for shipment to Vietnam to restart commercial production. Production operations at the company’s factory were suspended in March due to a mandatory shutdown, resulting from […]
U.S. Army tests Kraig Labs ballistic panels
September 7th, 2018
Kraig Biocraft Laboratories, a developer of spider silk–based fibers, has delivered ballistic shootpack panels to the U.S. Army, Innovation in Textiles reports. The panels to be evaluated for effectiveness in stopping bullets are made with Kraig Labs’ Dragon Silk, a genetically engineered spider silk that mimics the strength of natural spider silk and is produced by […]
Hybrid silkworms spinning larger cocoons
April 27th, 2018
Kraig Biocraft Laboratories Inc. recently announced the first production of recombinant spider silk cocoons from the new line of hybrid transgenic silkworms created at its Michigan production and research facility. The new line was created by combining one of Kraig Biocraft’s best performing recombinant spider silk lines with a commercial strain, resulting in the largest […]
Enhanced silk as strong as carbon fiber developed
October 5th, 2017
Scientists led by Nicola Pugno at Italy's University of Trento have combined spider silk with graphene and carbon nanotubes, producing a composite material five times stronger. Innovation Textiles reports that silk incorporating graphene and carbon nanotubes is produced by spider spinning, after feeding spiders with water containing the nanotubes. Although only produced on a small […]
Researchers spin spider silk one kilometer long
January 18th, 2017
Spider silk characteristics make it attractive for a wide variety of uses: It is stronger than steel, is tolerated well when implanted in tissue and it’s biodegradable. Harvesting the silk, however, has proven a hurdle. Spiders are difficult to keep captive, needless to say, and they produce small amounts of silk. Large-scale production requires artificial […]
Utah State shares spider silk research contract award
December 18th, 2015
Utah State University has announced that it has been awarded a U.S. Army Small Business Innovation Research Phase II contract with Salt Lake City based Technology Holding LLC to continue research and development of spider silk manufacturing. The total contract award is $1 million and is managed through the Army Research Office. Under the terms […]