Hybrid silkworms spin silk stronger than steel

This week, research was published showing that silk produced by transgenically-engineered silkworms exhibits the highly sought-after strength and elasticity of spider silk, which is stronger than steel or Kevlar. This stronger silk could possibly be used to make sutures; artificial limbs, ligaments and tendons; parachutes; wound dressings; tissue scaffolds; microcapsules; cosmetics and textiles. Results showed that the new silk was tougher than typical silkworm silk and as tough as silk fibers produced by spiders. Commercial production of spider silk from spiders is impractical because spiders are too cannibalistic and territorial for farming. Researchers have experimented with producing the stronger material in other organisms, including bacteria, insects, mammals and plants, but those proteins require mechanical spinning – a task the silkworms perform naturally.