Nature's Engineers - Part 7: Growing Products
Key Takeaways The manufacturing gap: A spider produces silk stronger than steel at room temperature using water. We need 1,500°C furnaces and toxic chemicals to make inferior materials. Synthetic spider silk: After decades of effort, companies like Bolt Threads and Spiber are finally producing spider silk proteins at industrial scale using engineered bacteria and yeast. Mycelium materials: Mushroom roots can be grown into packaging, insulation, leather alternatives, and even building materials—all biodegradable and carbon-negative. The paradigm shift: Instead of extracting, heating, and shaping, biofabrication grows materials in the shape needed, at ambient temperature, with minimal waste. The Spider’s Miracle Every morning, millions of garden spiders perform a manufacturing miracle. ...