Spiders and silkworms are masters of materials science, but scientists are finally catching up. Silks are among the toughest materials known, stronger and less brittle, pound for pound, than steel.

The strength–ductility trade-off has been a long-standing dilemma in materials science. This has limited the potential of many structural materials, steels in particular. Here we report a way of ...

As light as possible and as strong as possible at the same time. These are the requirements for modern lightweight materials, such as those used in aircraft construction and the automotive industry. A ...