Why Can’t We Make Spider Silk?

People have been using silkworm silk to make stuff for thousands of years, but spider silk could potentially be even more useful. It’s stronger than steel, super stretchy, and could be made into anything from bridge cables to biodegradable water bottles… if only we could figure out how to cultivate it.

Hosted by: Hank Green

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Sources:
https://www.wired.com/2015/06/bolt-threads-spider-silk/
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/314-necktie-made-spider-silk-201500116.html
https://www.forbes.com/sites/amyfeldman/2018/08/14/clothes-from-a-petri-dish-700-million-bolt-threads-may-have-cracked-the-code-on-spider-silk/#4ad46bc8bda1
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/new-artificial-spider-silk-stronger-steel-and-98-percent-water-180964176/

Spider Silk

https://www.technologyreview.com/s/541361/spinning-synthetic-spider-silk/
https://www.technologyreview.com/s/420070/making-spider-strength-materials/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/0/21685308
https://cen.acs.org/articles/92/i9/Spider-Silk-Poised-Commercial-Entry.html
https://www.nature.com/articles/nbt.3894/tables/1
https://texeresilk.com/article/silk_making_how_to_make_silk
https://phys.org/news/2018-07-genetic-silkworm-unravel-history-domestication.html
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5000687/
https://www.britannica.com/animal/silkworm-moth
https://phys.org/news/2012-07-future-biomaterial-spider-silk-production.html

These Spider Silk Sneakers from Adidas Are Biodegradable

https://phys.org/news/2018-04-spider-silk-key-bone-fixing-composite.html
https://www.wired.com/story/bolt-threads-synthetic-spider-silk-hat/
https://www.bbc.com/news/av/science-environment-16554357/the-goats-with-spider-genes-and-silk-in-their-milk