Shimmering like spun gold, sea silk fabric is so lustrous that some believe it inspired the Greek legends of Jason’s quest for the Golden Fleece. For centuries, artisans in the Mediterranean have passed down the art of spinning the silk, which comes from the beardlike tufts of the giant clam Pinna nobilis. But the clam’s endangered species status has made it hard to keep the tradition alive.
Now, scientists have re-created the legendary fabric using discarded parts of Atrina pectinata, a related clam species farmed extensively in South Korea for food. They’ve also identified the precise molecular structure and formation behind sea silk’s everlasting golden hue, the researchers report