Behind the secrets of silk lie high-tech opportunities

ScienceDaily (2010-08-03) -- Tougher than a bullet-proof vest yet synonymous with beauty and luxury, silks spun by worms and spiders are a masterpiece of nature whose properties have yet to be fully replicated in the laboratory. But scientists have begun to unravel the secrets of silk. Biomedical engineers report that silk-based materials have been transformed from commodity textile to a growing web of high tech applications.