Scientists have made spider silk, which is lighter and tougher than steel, 3 times tougher by adding small amounts of aluminum, titanium or zinc The new material could be used to make super-strong textiles and high-tech medical materials like artificial bones and tendons, as well as stronger thread for surgical operations. Now researchers are looking for alternative ways to make the silk without spiders, such as duplicating their spinning technique using silk from silkworms. It seems that producing spider silk commercially can be difficult. When kept in captivity, spiders tend to eat each other.

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