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Science and Nature

Silkworms Spin Cocoons That Spell Their Own Doom

See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Get a new perspective on our place in the universe and meet extraordinary new friends. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small.

Silkworms Spin Cocoons That Spell Their Own Doom

Season 9 Episode 7 | 5m 13s | CC

Those precious silk garments in your closet were made by the caterpillars of a fuzzy white moth – thousands of them. Silkworms spin a cocoon with a single strand of silk up to 10 city blocks long. Humans have bred these insects into weaving machines that can no longer survive in the wild.

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