Silk—prized for its lightness, luminosity, and beauty—is also one of the strongest biological materials ever known. More than a century ago, it was used to make the first bulletproof vest, and yet science has barely begun to tap its potential. The technologies it has inspired—including sutures, pharmaceuticals, and replacement body parts—continue to be developed in laboratories around the world and are now beginning to offer a sustainable alternative to the plastics choking our planet.
Aarathi Prasad, author of Silk: A World History, outlines the cultural and biological history of the fabric, including its origins, the ancient silk routes, and the biologists who learned the secrets of silk-producing animals. From the moths of China, Indonesia, and India to the spiders of South America and Madagascar and the mollusks of the Mediterranean, Prasad offers a mix of biography and science that brings to life the vast, winding history of silk and looks to its future as a powerful resource.
This Zoom Smithsonian Associates illustrated lecture will take place Tuesday, May 14 at noon, $25 for Smithsonian Associates members, $30 for nonmembers. Register at https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/silk-world-history
