Scientists at Aberdeen University have found silkworms could hold the key to repairing damaged spinal cords.

Research in conjunction with Oxford University found fibres from the antheraea pernyi (AP) silk spinner had properties suited to spinal repair.

The cleaned and sterilised silk could be used to form a scaffold-like structure, which supports nerve growth around the patient's damaged area.

Dr Wenlong Huang from Aberdeen University said: "Spinal injuries affect 250,000 to 500,000 people globally every year.

"It can have devastating effects for people who suffer them, including loss of motor and sensory function below the level of injury, and bladder, bowel, and sexual dysfunction.

"If we can work to find a solution, such as the use of AP silk, to improve their quality of life even slightly then it is beneficial."

He added: "Intriguingly, AP silk may also have the potential to aid repair following brain injury.

"These are still early bench-based studies but they certainly seem to show that AP silk has fantastic properties especially suitable for spinal repair and we look forward to researching this further."