News in Brief Materials Science

Bacteria can be coaxed into making the toughest kind of spider silk

The engineered stands could help design more sturdy materials

spider

ITSY BITSY  The silk that spiders dangle from is one of the toughest materials known, but scientists haven’t been able to copy it, until now.   

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By Jeremy Rehm

- More than 2 years ago

Bacteria are helping to make engineered silk that rivals the strength and stretchiness of a spider’s stiff dragline silk, the type from which the arachnids dangle.