Email Print Share
May 3, 2010

Got Silk?


"There's a lot of interest in spider silk fibers because they're stronger than almost any other manmade fiber and they're also elastic," says Randy Lewis, professor of molecular biology at the University of Wyoming in Laramie. Since ancient times, there's been a fascination with spider webs because of that combination of qualities. There's folklore going back to the first century A.D., when spider webs were used as dressings for wounds. Twenty-first century experts are looking at silk for many of the same reasons.

Credit: National Science Foundation


Images and other media in the National Science Foundation Multimedia Gallery are available for use in print and electronic material by NSF employees, members of the media, university staff, teachers and the general public. All media in the gallery are intended for personal, educational and nonprofit/non-commercial use only.

Videos credited to the National Science Foundation, an agency of the U.S. Government, may be distributed freely. However, some materials within the videos may be copyrighted. If you would like to use portions of NSF-produced programs in another product, please contact the Video Team in the Office of Legislative and Public Affairs at the National Science Foundation.

Additional information about general usage can be found in Conditions.