Metal toughens up spider silk

Spider silk, already one of the strongest fibres known, can be made even stronger by infusing metals into its protein structure, scientists in Germany say. The team hope that their findings will lead to lighter weight and tougher new materials.  

Seung-Mo Lee and Mato Knez at the Max Planck Institute of Microstructure Physics in Halle and their team have embedded the protein fibres of natural silk from an Araneus spider with zinc, aluminium and titanium and found it increases their strength.