How spiders and silkworms manage to produce strong fibers without clogging their silk-producing glands has puzzled scientists for years. While trying to mimic the process in the lab, researchers at Tufts University in Medford, Mass., stumbled across the answer.
David Kaplan and Hyoung-Joon Jin took natural silk from a silkworm, extracted the silk proteins known as fibroins, and dissolved them in water.