Silkworms

Mussels and silkworms may soon be indirectly responsible for saving people's lives. Scientists have used proteins from both animals to develop an internal wound dressing that stops bleeding and prevents infections.Ordinarily, in order to halt the bleeding of open wounds on internal organs (or other internal tissue), surgeons pack gauze sponges around them. Because those sponges aren't biodegradable, they have to be removed before the incision is closed. That said, sometimes a sponge may be missed, requiring a subsequent…

Millennia have passed since humans discovered silk and began harvesting it from silkworm cocoons, but scientists are still finding new uses for this remarkable material. Now researchers say it could help tackle a growing environmental and health concern: microplastics, the minuscule plastic fragments that have been found everywhere from mountaintops to the seafloor—and even in the human bloodstream. Most environmental microplastics form when larger items degrade. But a smaller yet notable portion of the polluting…