In Sweden, researchers say they have finally cracked the code and created a synthetic spider silk that is a realistic option for industrial use and manufacturing. While researchers have been able to recreate spider silk in the past, it relied on a lot of strong chemicals and they weren’t able to produce enough fibers to really make it worthwhile or a viable option for commercial uses like manufacturing textiles.
However, Swedish researchers discovered some pH gradients that affected the fibers and they also created a biomimetic spinning process that basically copies how spiders create and spin the fibers. The combination of these two discoveries and innovations allowed researchers to create spider silk threads that were a kilometer long making it a real option for industries like textile manufacturing.