The project was led by Dr. Xiaoli Zhang, the Company’s research manager, whose team continues to push the boundaries of genetic engineering for spider silk production.

When compared weight-for-weight, spider silk has a higher tensile strength than steel yet is almost as elastic as rubber. Leading manmade fibers such as nylon are less than half as tough. What’s more, ...

Published in Advanced Materials, the IFM discovery takes researchers one step closer to solving this mystery by wet-spinning a new class of silk that produces fibers that outperform natural silk.

Stretching spider silk makes it stronger New study finds the amount of stretching determines the fibers' properties Date: March 7, 2025 Source: Northwestern University Summary: When they weave ...

it's also a crucial step in strengthening the silk fibers for a more durable web. In a new study, Northwestern University researchers have discovered why the role of stretching is so important.

Fragile fibers like lotus silk and vicuña wool are so rare that ... An entire community begins preparing to capture the herd a month in advance. In addition to monitoring the herd and tracking ...

2 Beyond durable fashion garments, tough silk fibers are coveted in parachutes ... he noted that the team is actively working with automotive brands to advance this material into the market. Strands ...

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 ...

When compared weight-for-weight, spider silk has a higher tensile strength than steel yet is almost as elastic as rubber. Leading manmade fibers such as nylon are less than half as tough.

This pulling action doesn’t just help the spider release the silk, it’s also a crucial step in strengthening the silk fibers for a more durable web. In a new study, Northwestern Engineering ...