The glove on the left, made with gelatin fiber, has a silky sheen, whereas the glove made of sheep’s wool has no luster. (Credit: ETH Zurich) Swiss scientists discovered a way to warm your hands with slaughterhouse scraps, and it’s not as gross as it sounds. The butchering process yields a host of byproducts that’ll never be sold in a grocery store, but that doesn’t mean they’re useless. Cast-offs like bone, tendons and skin are rich sources of collagen, and scientists figured out a way to spin yarn from this waste, which can be used to produce clothing.
Collagen is the primary component of connective tissues in our bodies. In fact, it’s the most abundant structural protein in mammalian bodies. Collagen is an ingredient of gelatin, which is in myriad food products we eat every day — it’s the stuff that gives Jell-O its bounce. Scientists also wondered, however, whether ...
