A Japanese company is creating a new textile that can be made from the silk of silkworm larvae, a parasite that’s spread through silk production.
The company, ikatsan, says the silk fabric will be able to withstand up to 15,000 insect bites, but the product is still a ways off from becoming commercially available.
“In order to achieve this, we need to produce a silk fiber with more elasticity than silk, and that will be made with silkworm larva,” said Masayuki Kato, who is also the chief engineer at the company.
The silk fabric is made from a polyester blend that has been developed by the company using silkworms and a synthetic protein.
Kato and his colleagues say the silk fiber will be flexible and stretchy enough to withstand several thousand insect bites.
“This fabric will also be able do more than just absorb insect bites,” he said.
This is the first time the company has tried to make silk fibers from the larval larva of the silkworm, a plant-eating, spider-eating parasitic worm that can spread from person to person.
A person who has had a bite from a spider or another small insect would be protected from further bites for the next two months.
But there are concerns about how the silk material will be manufactured.
Scientists from the University of Pennsylvania and the University at Buffalo say that the silk fibers used in the product will not have the elasticity of silk made from silkworms.
They are concerned that the new fabric could tear, break or have to be replaced with silk fibers that are harder, and would need to be stored in cold temperatures.
There is also concern about the silk’s ability to absorb chemicals, especially insecticides, that could be harmful to humans.
Another concern is that the fabric will likely not be durable enough to be used by humans.
Kato said that the company is working on manufacturing its new product with a better-quality fiber that is resistant to chemical attacks.
It will also need to withstand a variety of weather conditions and the harsh sun.
What are the problems with silk?
The Silkworm is one of the most dangerous and distressing parasites in the world, killing at least 2.4 million people a year.
One of the main ways that the parasite lives is through its eggs.
They hatch in the body of an infected person, where they can survive for several weeks or months.
The eggs are then swallowed by an insect, which feeds on the larva, which then becomes larvae, and eventually becomes a worm.
The larva grows to become adult, and a new generation of worms takes over.
Its eggs are extremely small, only about the size of a grain of rice, but are incredibly powerful and can survive in the skin of a human.
The worms feed on the cells in the insect’s blood, so if an infected human becomes infected with a silkworm and a silk worm larvae, they will feed on each other and then die.
As with many other parasites, it’s hard to keep track of the number of larvae and the number that are born.
The parasite can grow in a person for years, but only the first generation of silkworms is able to reproduce.
Most silkworms die within about two months of being laid, but it takes several weeks for a new larva to emerge.
Researchers have developed a way to make a silk that is more resilient to insect bites and other attacks.
Kano said they are also working on creating a material that is much more flexible, and is able, for example, to absorb pesticides without damaging the fabric.
If the silk is as resilient as the new product, it could potentially be used in garments and other clothing, Kato says.
So far, the silk from the new silkworm is only available in Japan, but there is no shortage of other companies making silk fibers using silkworm eggs.
Source: Health Daily
