Japan ? A sock wholesaling manufacturer in Nara Prefecture and a university professor are working together to produce stronger, more elastic socks using a new type of silk thread made by incorporating spider thread genes into silkworm eggs.

The new type of thread, called “spider silk,” was developed by Prof. Masao Nakagaki, an insect genetics researcher, at Shinshu University in Nagano Prefecture.

Nakagaki said the new thread is expected to be twice as strong and elastic as conventional silk thread.

He also said the new thread could be used for various nontextile products, such as sutures for surgery and fishing line.

According to Nakagaki, to make the new thread, genes are extracted from spider thread and injected into silkworm eggs. Silkworms that are hatched from the eggs spin thread, about 10 percent of which is made up of spider thread material.