What do Spiderman , Al Capone 's silk boxer shorts and a waterproof hiking jacket have in common ? Spider silk is being used in pioneering research to regrow damaged bones and teeth . Answer : they are all , in their own way , helping to push forward the boundaries of modern medical science . More specifically , two separate research teams in the U.S. have been using materials normally associated with clothing ( and a certain arachnid superhero ) to provide novel , high-tech solutions to age-old health problems . At Tufts University , Massachusetts scientists are pioneering a method of manipulating spider silk to genetically engineer new bone tissue , thus allowing them -- in theory -- to re-grow damaged bones and teeth . At Rush University , Indiana , meanwhile , a team of cardiologists are trialing a device made of Gore-Tex -- the waterproof fabric used in much outdoor clothing -- to help repair holes in the human heart . The Tufts research , headed by Professor David Kaplan of the Department of Biomedical Engineering , is focusing on ways of using silk -- or rather the constituent proteins of which silk is made -- to create a hybrid material that can then be used as a `` scaffold '' on which to grow new bone and tooth cells . Why silk ? Because not only is it extremely tough -- its tensile strength is six times that of steel fibre of an equal diameter -- but also bio-compatible , meaning it does not cause an adverse reaction when introduced into the human body . `` We are playing around with silk from silk worms , '' one of Kaplan 's collaborators , Professor Carole Perry of Nottingham Trent University in the UK , told CNN , `` But the bulk of our work is using fusion proteins derived from spider silk . '' The science is complex -- osteogenic differentiation , chimeric proteins and novel nanocomposites are just a few of the terms involved -- but the basic idea is that , working at a molecular level , you combine elements of silk protein with those of some other protein with desirable properties to create the building blocks of an entirely new material . This material -- precisely what form it will take is as yet uncertain -- will then be used to fill a hole or a break in a bone or a tooth , acting as a `` scaffold '' on which stem cells taken from elsewhere in the patient 's body can grow to form replacement tissue . Because silk is also biodegradable , the scaffold would then dissolve away over time like sutures , leaving just the new bone . `` It 's an important step in the process of trying to grow replacement body parts , '' Professor Christopher Viney of the University of California , Merced -- an expert in the mechanical properties of silk -- told CNN . `` Right now if you want a replacement part you need a donor , but this sort of technology is one piece in the jigsaw of growing your own replacement . The health implications are potentially huge . '' The work being carried out at Rush University is not , on the face of it , quite as scientifically ground-breaking as that of Professor Kaplan and his team . If successful , however , it could prove every bit as significant . As with Kaplan , the Rush team -- led by cardiologist Dr. Ziyad Hijazi -- is adapting an everyday material to a novel medical application . In this case the material is a variation on waterproof Gore-Tex , known as Gore-Helex . The latter has been fashioned into a minute , umbrella-shaped device -- the snappily-named Gore-Helex Septal Occluder -- that can be used to plug a Patent Foramen Ovale ( PFO ) , a common hole found in the upper chambers of the heart of one in five Americans . Although in itself not necessarily dangerous , a PFO can be for stroke victims . `` We are proposing that closing the hole will be more effective in preventing stroke relapse than taking medications for the rest of your life , '' Dr. Hijazi told CNN . Although an Occluder-style device has already been used successfully for some years in plugging Atrial Septal Defects , another type of heart hole , these are the first official randomized trials to ascertain its effectiveness in cases of PFO . `` It comes in three different sizes , '' explains Dr. Hijazi , `` Twenty , 25 and 30 mm , and is passed through an incision in the groin up through an artery into the heart , where we position it using a microscopic camera . `` The operation takes 45 minutes , the patient is awake throughout and goes home the next day . `` Given that PFOs are implicated in approximately 40 percent of strokes in the U.S. -- about 120,000 people -- this technology could make a very big difference . '' Gore-Tex hearts and silk bones -- fashion will never seem quite the same again .
Everyday fabrics are being used in ground-breaking medical research . A material based on silk could help regrow damaged bone tissue . The researchers say the new fabric is a step towards developing more advanced materials for use in human body parts and organs. A device made of Gore-Tex is being used to plug holes in the heart .