A recent study published in a renowned PNAS journal revealed that spider silk can be used to detect sounds and this can be applied in developing hearing aids and microphones. In this study, the researchers chose spider silk and coated it with a thin layer of gold to allow electrical conductivity. Researchers had to optimize the diameter of the silk and how to thin should that be. However, other properties like strength and stiffness of the silk are still under investigation.
But researchers believe that this research will be useful developing hearing aids or microphones. Of course, realizing this project will still take many years and till then we are dependent on the available hearing aids. In your experience, how many Indians (especially young and old people) willingly choose to use hearing aids?
