The microfluidic device. Precursor spidroin solution is placed at one end and then pulled towards the other end by means of negative pressure. As the spidroins flow through the microfluidic channels, ...

It’s almost time to dust off the Halloween decorations and adorn the house with all manner of spooky things, including the classic polyester spider webs. Scientists reporting in ACS Nano have made ...

While spider silk proteins are something you can make in your garage, making useful drag line fibers has proved a daunting challenge. Now, a team of scientists from Japan and Hong Kong are closer to ...

Famous for its strength, flexibility, and light weight, spider silk has a tensile strength that is comparable to steel of the same diameter. In addition, it is biocompatible (meaning that it can be ...

Stronger than steel and more eco-friendly than plastic, spider silk is an alluring substance for material scientists. 1 However, researchers know little about the proteins that comprise it and how ...

NEW YORK (AP) — With two pairs of fine-tipped tweezers and the hands of a surgeon, Cheryl Hayashi began dissecting the body of a silver garden spider under her microscope. In just a few minutes she ...

Spider silk—six times tougher than Kevlar and stronger than steel—has now been produced by an unexpected source. Spider silk is a biological protein fiber spun by spiders. Many of these fibers have ...

Swedish scientist Dr. Anna Rising was among a team of researchers to discover how to synthesize artificial spider silk. She says they hope to use... Spider Silk Is Stronger Than Steel — And Now It Can ...

Spider silk is one of the strongest materials on Earth, technically stronger than steel for a material of its size. However, it’s tough to obtain — spiders are too territorial (and cannibalistic!) to ...

Cheryl Hayashi uses a microscope to work on a spider in her lab at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. Hayashi has collected spider silk glands of about 50 species, just a small dent ...