
Silkworms that eat carbon nanotubes and graphene spin tougher silk - sndean
http://cen.acs.org/articles/94/web/2016/10/Silkworms-eat-carbon-nanotubes-graphene.html
======
delinka
I sense a new explanation for Spiderman's webs on the next reboot.

But seriously, are we anywhere close to using this stuff for human benefit? Or
near learning how these worms do what they do? This sounds fabulously awesome.

~~~
colechristensen
A company called Bolt Threads raised a $50M round this year. It looks like
they're going to miss their 2016 release of spider silk clothing, but it also
seems like a release date and real product are right around the corner.

[https://boltthreads.com/2016/05/11/bolt-raises-50-million-
an...](https://boltthreads.com/2016/05/11/bolt-raises-50-million-and-forms-
partnership/)

~~~
Retric
Sort of. Spider silk is made from both a chemical process and physical
manipulation by spinnerets. We can make the chemicals but they are not nearly
as strong without the spinnerets thus clothing not body armor.

~~~
mungoid
This sounds like the perfect opportunity for some researchers to create
nanobots or something to act like spinnerettes. Wonder if there has been any
such thing?

------
samstave
Genuine question: Who the heck thinks ___" hey, let me feed graphene and
carbon nano-tubes to some silkworms!!"_ __

I am amazed that someone thought of that... :-) but what was the __ _previous_
__thought process that lead to this idea? Were they feeding them other
materials to test out and then arrived at __ _" How about this?"_ __or was
this the first __ _" What if..."_ __

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thescriptkiddie
> The team heated the silk fibers at 1,050 °C to carbonize the silk protein

This is suspiciously similar to the way that carbon fiber is made. It could be
that they are just converting the silk into carbon fiber and the nanotubes are
not an important part of the process. Then again, I only read the summary.

~~~
plorg
It seems clear even from the summary that this process was used to test the
silk fibers, not to produce them. Presumably the control silk and the
nanotube/graphene-fed silk were both subjected to the carbonization treatment
and the then the researchers tested the conductivity of both specimens.

------
Lxr
I wonder what effects this process has on the organism. For instance what
would happen if humans ate graphene?

~~~
M_Grey
The good news about silkworms is that they're not in it for the long haul
anyway, so as long as there are no teratogenic effects, it's all ok.

~~~
asciimo
... because they're boiled alive as soon as they finish their cocoons. But
maybe you mean teratogenic effects on humans?

~~~
samstave
uh... can you expand on this? What do you mean they are boiled? (ill go google
- but please explain)

EDIT: oh... no thanks!

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beondegi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beondegi)

~~~
GrandTheftR
Not that, boiling is a step to produce silk:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silk#Production_process](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silk#Production_process)

------
stcredzero
The next step is perhaps to understand how the nanotubes are incorporated and
how they contribute to the strength of the silk.

Or perhaps, we start breeding silkworms for greater and greater tensile
strength silk? Perhaps we could get some of nature's nano-machinery to align
and interweave nanotubes in a durable matrix for us?

------
kilroy123
I wonder if the same thing would happen with the golden silk weaver spider?

------
jamesbercegay
This is one of the most interesting articles I have read in a while. Thanks
for sharing. I can't wait to see the practical applications of this other than
some of the "type" ideas we have had such as a space elevator. That is an
awesome idea and kinda cool too (just so much science goes into that idea that
I feel giddy because it is fun) But, I think it just is a grain of sand on the
beach of possibilities.

------
jimmywanger
Geez. This will make its way into the food supply.

Remember, some South Koreans (and maybe other East Asian cultures) eat
silkworm pupae for food.

Cheap protein, and there's no need to waste calories in that culture.

~~~
roflchoppa
ya eating crickets is also supposed to be protein dense, its good thing tho,
because red meats are devastating to the eco system. Id be down to try some
cricket flower cookies :D

~~~
Zancarius
Completely off-topic, but it's funny you mention this. A few weeks ago, I was
looking at one of the stores I buy various odds and ends from that I can't
find locally (fairly mainstream food-related shop that's known for selling
nuts and dried fruits) and ran into cricket flour [1]. I suppose I shouldn't
be overly surprised, but it's certainly unexpected. The allergy warnings are
particularly interesting (shellfish).

If you're not sure about buying cricket flour, it appears they now sell orange
ginger cookies made with it [2]. One of these days I might buy some. But,
again, beware that people with shellfish allergies may react to crickets.

[1] [https://nuts.com/cookingbaking/flours/cricket-
flour.html](https://nuts.com/cookingbaking/flours/cricket-flour.html)

[2] [https://nuts.com/snacks/cookies/orange-ginger-cricket-
cookie...](https://nuts.com/snacks/cookies/orange-ginger-cricket-cookies.html)

~~~
roflchoppa
its pricy tho, at $15/lbs it might be good as an additive, but i dont think it
makes a good base for the whole cookie? Perhaps added protein to protein bars?
Im gonna grab some when i find a seller that i have a gift card to.

~~~
Zancarius
Oops. Sorry. Get busy and forget the check replies.

I haven't used it, but yeah, it's better left as an additive, and it's
definitely pricey. Adding it to protein bars is a fantastic idea. Nuts'
products are a bit on the expensive end sometimes, but they sometimes carry
hard to find items in bulk. (Although I'd probably avoid them for less
commonly purchased items; sometimes they're stale!)

------
dnautics
There's no evidence that nanotubes wind up in the silk, and, let's be honest,
can you tell the difference between the three EM panels? Is there some
quantitative measure of the disorder in the first panel versus the second or
third? Could you train a panel of humans (or a ConvNet) on a set of
treated/untreated silkworm silk EM images and expect them to correctly bin
which treatment the silk came from?

~~~
Normal_gaussian
Looking at those pictures, yes.

I would need more pictures to be confident in the answer, but I think that
subjectively the bottom two look more ordered (I initially thought the first
was of a greater magnification) and I suspect there is some absolute
measurement that can be made from the relation of the length and branching
factor of the structures.

------
yuhong
Also see [http://www.kurzweilai.net/converting-atmospheric-carbon-
diox...](http://www.kurzweilai.net/converting-atmospheric-carbon-dioxide-into-
carbon-nanotubes-for-use-in-batteries)

------
cmdrfred
Is it space elevator worthy?

------
KeatonDunsford
Silkworm son: "What's for breakfast?"

Silkworm dad: "NANOTUBES."

~~~
minipci1321
For some reason, attempts at humour here on HN never leave readers
indifferent. I should say thank you, I was very tempted by a 'reel of
transistors' version.

~~~
oldmanjay
I'm not really addressing this to you, I just have a lot of thoughts on this.

I feel bad about the downvotes in individual cases, but the culture of easy,
repetitive, or just plain bad jokes is a big part of what turned Slashdot from
my favorite site into a cesspit that wasn't worth visiting, so I think they're
a necessary mechanism.

The trick for this site is to make a good joke. If the topic is well-worn, it
has to be a great joke. If you're not sure if it's a good joke, it probably
isn't. I base this on the fact that most people simply aren't funny. There's
no shame in that, it's just true.

I'm assuming the OP joke is a reference of some sort since I don't get it. A
good rule of thumb is that references aren't jokes at all, they're references,
so posting them here will probably get you a downvote. This is also true of
puns and memes, both from broader culture and more traditional nerd quarters.

And just to be clear, I didn't downvote the OP, but I would have if it weren't
already grey by the time I saw it.

~~~
minipci1321
Of course I understand all the good reasons you are giving, but I'd think you
are taking it all too seriously.

People sometimes post bad jokes on HN for the same reason they tell them in
face -- feeling lonely, sometimes desperately lonely, maybe even feeling
rejected, trying to be part of it, knowing the joke is not so great but trying
anyway.

And you know, if I can somehow help those people, even at risk of being biased
in the wrong direction, I couldn't care less if HN becomes Shashdot. Every
forum lives its life and then dies, and we all move on.

But that's me, others are entitled to other opinions.

