SILK: An Ancient Material used in Ultra Modern Ways

Fiorenzo Omenetto shares 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.

Imagine...coffee cups, nuts and bolts, tissue for the human body...ALL made of SILK.

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http://www.ted.com/talks/fiorenzo_omenetto_silk_the_ancient_material_of_the_future.html 

Fiorenzo G. Omenetto's research spans nonlinear optics, nanostructured materials (such as photonic crystals and photonic crystal fibers), biomaterials and biopolymer-based photonics. Most recently, he's working on high-tech applications for silk.

Not your typical fiber artist, Fio is actually using the silk proteins as a material for building bio-compatible sensors that could be safely implanted in humans. Silk may seem like a strange material to use, however it has properties that allow biochemical components that are mixed into it to remain active. As a bonus, it can also be produced using a green, non-toxic and neutral pH process.