Simulations showed that stretching aligns protein chains and increases hydrogen bonds, which act like tiny bridges between ...

Spider silk, already known for its exceptional strength, reveals an astonishing manufacturing process. Researchers have ...

By simulating spider silk in a computational model, the team discovered the stretching process aligns the protein chains within the fibers and increases the number of bonds between those chains.

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, ...

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.

By simulating spider silk in a computational model, the team discovered the stretching process aligns the protein chains within the fibers and increases the number of bonds between those chains.

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.

By simulating spider silk in a computational model, the team discovered the stretching process aligns the protein chains within the fibers and increases the number of bonds between those chains. Both ...