Light enough to permit flight and thin enough to accommodate flexibility and strong enough to protect its host, natural insect cuticle—found in the rigid exoskeletons of houseflies and grasshoppers—provides its host protection without adding weight or bulk. Researchers at Harvard University’s Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering have developed a new material called Shrilk to replicate insect cuticle’s strength, durability and versatility. Shrilk—so called because it is composed of chitin commonly extracted from discarded shrimp shells and fibroin protein from silk—could be used to make trash bags, packaging and diapers that degrade quickly. As an exceptionally strong, biocompatible material, it might also be used to suture wounds that bear high loads, such as in hernia repair or as a scaffold for tissue regeneration.