Scanning electron microscopy images of fibers from engineered spider silk. To validate their computational findings, the Northwestern team used spectroscopy techniques to examine how the protein ...

Japan-based biochemist Ali Malay has long questioned traditional theories about how spiders make their silk. “The prevailing hypotheses seemed like magic, because, according to it, you suddenly have ...

As feared as they might be by large swathes of the global population, spiders have so many positives. For one thing, they're one of the most effective forms of natural pest control, but the fact they ...

Somewhere in Michigan, 10,000 silkworms are spinning the future of supermaterials. They labor in the thick air of a warm, humid warehouse, pulling a sticky white strand from a gland in their face and ...