08/15/2011
Spinning skin from spider's silk
Genetically engineered spider's silk may be the next step toward creating artificial skin for patients requiring skin grafts, such as burn victims.
Spider dragline silk is incredibly strong, much stronger than the collagen conventionally used to create artificial skin. By weaving the silk fibers of golden orb web spiders onto a steel frame it is possible to create a mesh scaffold on which human skin cells can thrive.
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