Polymeric materials produced from fossil fuels have been intimately linked to the
development of industrial activities in the 20th century and, consequently, to the …

Hydrogels are a class of advanced material forms that closely mimic properties of the soft
biological tissues. Several polymers have been explored for preparing hydrogels with …

Proteins are the fundamental building blocks for high-performance materials in nature. Such
materials fulfill structural roles, as in the case of silk and collagen, and can generate active …

Silk fibroin has become a promising biomaterial owing to its remarkable mechanical
property, biocompatibility, biodegradability, and sufficient supply. However, it is difficult to …

High-performance stretchable conductive fibers are desired for the development of
stretchable electronic devices. Here we show a simple spinning method to prepare …

Herein we present a chimeric recombinant spider silk protein (spidroin) whose aqueous
solubility equals that of native spider silk dope and a spinning device that is based solely on …

There is an urgent need to improve the sustainability of the materials we produce and use.
Here, we explore what humans can learn from nature about how to sustainably fabricate …

Spider silk fiber rapidly assembles from spidroin protein in soluble state via an incompletely
understood mechanism. Here, we present an integrated model for silk formation that …

Silk features exceptional mechanical properties such as high tensile strength and great
extensibility, making it one of the toughest materials known. The exceptional strength of …

Spider silk is strong and extensible but still biodegradable and well tolerated when
implanted, making it the ultimate biomaterial. Shortcomings that arise in replicating spider …