Artificial spider silk produced for high-performance textiles

MIT Technology Review : A California startup company is developing a new manmade material similar in strength and versatility to spider’s silk. Founded by David Breslauer, Ethan Mirsky, and Dan Widmaier, Bolt Threads creates its fibers from sugar, water, salts, and yeast. As the materials ferment, they form a liquid silk protein, which is then put through a process of wet-spinning, similar to that used with acrylic and rayon. The resulting fibers can be knitted or woven into fabrics and garments. The company says its product is stronger, stretchier, lighter, softer, and more durable than most natural or artificial materials and can be engineered for particular purposes. Although researchers have been trying to develop such a product for decades, Bolt Threads is the first to do so on a scale large enough for commercial applications. The company plans to start producing consumer clothing by 2016.