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Material scientists admire spider silk for being lightweight and strong. Now another arthropod product is getting into the act — insect cuticle, the tough, flexible material in the insect exoskeleton.
Researchers at Harvard’s Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering analyzed insect cuticle, which includes chitin and other proteins, such as the fibroin also found in spider silk. They then devised a method to produce a material made up of layers of chitin and fibroin. The result is on par with an aluminum alloy for strength, but at half the metal’s weight.
They call the stuff "shrilk" — a combination of shrimp, as discarded shrimp shells are a good source of chitin, and silk. Its flexibility can be manipulated by adjusting the water content – just as insects do. The research is in the journal Advanced Materials.
Shrilk's creators say it could be a green alternative to plastic, for trash bags and even diapers. ______（填一句话。）________
Shrilk is a clear film. If it can be made to stay clear when thick, it could make Enterprise Engineer Montgomery Scott's transparent aluminum obsolete. In advance.
Its strength and biocompatibility could make it good for surgical suture or as scaffolding for tissue regeneration.
good for 对…有益,能担当 biocompatibility -生物相容性 材料学家十分羡慕强劲而又轻盈的蜘蛛网。现在另一种节肢动物（节肢动物由昆虫纲、甲壳纲、蛛形纲、蜈蚣纲等外骨骼动物组成。）的角质层也加入了这一行列，它是一种结实而又柔韧的昆虫外骨。 哈佛魏斯生物工程研究所的研究人员分析了昆虫的角质层，它富含甲壳素和其他的蛋白质，比如说就有在蜘蛛丝中也含有的蚕丝蛋白。然后，他们设计了一种方法来制造有多层甲壳层和蚕丝蛋白的材料。这种新型材料与铝合金的强度一样，但只有铝合金的一半重。（今天终于知道铝合金的英语是这个，lol） 研究人员把这种新材料命名为“shrilk”（请允许我称其为“史莱克”），这个词是虾shrimp（因为被废弃虾壳中富含甲壳素）和丝silk这两个单词的组合。这种材料能像昆虫那样，通过调节其含水量来改变其柔韧性。这项研究发表于期刊“高级材料”。 “史莱克”的创造者说这种材料能环保地替代用于垃圾袋、甚至是尿布中的塑料。（尿布里含塑料？？）。它的强度与生物相容性能让其很好地成为医用缝合线或是组织再生的“脚手架”。 “史莱克”是一种透明的薄膜。如果做厚时，它还能保持透明的话，企业号航空母舰的总工程师蒙哥马利斯科特的透明铝就out啦。而且还提前了呢！（这是Star Trek里的人物Montgomery_Scott，经常被要求执行某些工程奇迹。在剧中，他出生于2222年的苏格兰。够2的。lol）