There’s a spider in Britain that’s a tad unusual. Instead of spinning “thick” silk threads (in this case, thick means several micrometers), the garden center spider can spin tiny nano-scale threads ...

How can a tiny spider body contain material for several decimeters of gossamer silk, and what governs the conversion to thread? Researchers in Sweden can now explain this process. How can a tiny ...

The caterpillars that spin commercial silk can make much tougher or more elastic threads, depending on how fast they’re forced to spin. If this research finding is translated into a marketable process ...

For many, the history of the silk industry conjures images of ancient China, medieval Italy or exotic India and the trade that opened continents politically and economically. However, silk is not ...

an Widmaier, cofounder and CEO of Bolt Threads, dons a white lab coat with his name and the numeral one—for employee number one—on the back before opening a door to the company’s lab. Inside, Widmaier ...

When I think about silk, I imagine beautiful scarves or neckties. But it turns out that silk has many properties that make it useful for more than just fabulous, fashionable accessories. For instance, ...