Spider silk is spun by silkworms for the first time, offering a green alternative to synthetic fibers

Comments

• g6d3np81@kbin.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

  Next, find a way to make them leave cocoon intact for better yield, then breed the moth so they don't have to modify the next generation.

  I also find this quite funny.

  but when he saw the silkworms’ eyes glowing red under the fluorescence microscope—a sign that the gene editing had been successful

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  • gullible@kbin.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

    Eternally juvenile silkworms, the seedless grape of the fabric industry.

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• Caradoc879@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

  What would large-scale production look like? Consumer clothing? Could we get $20 silk shirts eventually? I think most the reason plastic fibers are so prevalent is because their cheap. People would definitely flock to nicer feeling clothing if it was the same price.

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  • WhyIDie@kbin.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

    I couldn't seem to find it in the article, but I hope it wasn't like I previously saw: silkworms being boiled alive en masse

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    • g6d3np81@kbin.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

      High-strength and ultra-tough whole spider silk fibers spun from transgenic silkworms
      The worms still get kill though not en masse... yet.

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  • TropicalDingdong@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

    it doesn’t seem so. this would be effectively much stronger, more expensive silk. but maybe it can be produced in very large quantities

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  • acockworkorange@mander.xyz ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

    Pretty sure the goal is to replace fibers in composite high tensile strength engineering materials. Not for everyday clothing.

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• Eheran@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

  Very interesting. But note that toughness is not a very meaningful metric for fibers. Nobody is wearing kevlar or dyneema clothes.

  Given that silk is already established but fairly nich, I assume the same will happen for this fibre. Maybe it can replace kevlar, I don’t know enough to say if that is realistic. Thermal stability will not be nearly as good, stiffness is unknown. Anyone got deeper insights?

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  • g6d3np81@kbin.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

    If looking at strength alone, maybe everyday clothing can be made with less material... maybe.

    Will have to wait and see if it can be made at industrial scale.

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    • silentknyght@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

      We are probably near the minimum already, at least in terms of area/volume (rather than mass). Too few fibers and you’re wearing a mesh net, and not a tee-shirt.

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• Kowowow@lemmy.ca ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

  I wonder how it’ll compare to the open source spider silk yeast being worked on the by the thought emporium guy

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