The Reinvention of Silk

The New York Times →

Dr. David Kaplan and others at Tufts University are advancing uses of silk in a range of potential applications in medicine and other fields. “Here’s a material that’s been around for 5,000 years and used in sutures for about that long,” Dr. Kaplan said. “Yet there’s this untapped territory.”

Fiorenzo Omenetto: Silk, The Ancient Material of the Future

20+ astonishing new uses for silk, one of nature's most elegant materials -- in transmitting light, improving sustainability, adding strength and making medical leaps and bounds. On stage, he shows a few intriguing items made of the versatile stuff.

Silk Scaffolds For Medical Applications

A team at Tufts University has developed materials using ordinary silk that can be programmed to help the body heal. David Kaplan and his team published their research on silk sponges in the new American Chemical Society journal ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering. Kaplan is also the inaugural editor-in-chief.