This Squid Protein Could Make Self-Healing Fabric

Researchers at Penn State have found a way for fabric to “self-heal.” Using squid teeth proteins which was turned into a liquid form using yeast and bacteria, it can coat cotton, wool, and other fabrics and reassemble seams. The proteins can be used to fix regular, non-coated fabrics by adding water. It can also be applied to threads before the material is made. When water is applied to the reattached fabrics, it magically sews the pieces together again. “Fashion designers use natural fibers made of proteins like wool or silk that are expensive and they are not self-healing,” said Penn State Professor Melik C. Demirel. “We were looking for a way to make fabrics self-healing using conventional textiles. So we came up with this coating technology.” Watch the video above and see it in action.