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Dec. 21, 2012
Future Fibers May Be Spun From Slime
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The hagfish or "slime eel" shoots out slime containing silk-like fibers of remarkable strength. Douglas Fudge, a biologist at the University of Guelph, says it could be a good substitute for today's synthetic fibers -- it's 10 times stronger than nylon, for example -- and bacteria can be trained to make it.
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Produced by Christopher Intagliata, Associate Senior Producer
Guests
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Douglas Fudge
Associate Professor, Biology
Head, Comparative Biomaterials Lab
University of Guelph
Guelph, Ontario
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by Mario Livio
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