A spider begins by releasing a silk thread into the wind, allowing it to attach to a surface. This initial strand forms the foundation of the web. From the center, the spider spins radial lines ...

Spider silk is tougher than Kevlar, more flexible than nylon, and thinner than a single strand of human hair ... While other spider threads rely on one protein, this one combines two, with ...

At the time, raw silk became the country's largest export, as the silk industries in France and Italy had been hit by an epidemic of silkworm disease. At one point, Japan was the world's biggest ...