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Silkworms Spin Yarn With Human Protein
Makarand writes "Genetically engineered
silkworms were able to weave the human
protein collagen
into their cocoons according to this online article in nature magazine. The human protein ,used in applications like artificial skin and and wound dressings,
could be then extracted from the silk yarn using a simple chemical process.
This technique could effectively replace the current expensive processes of reaping
human therapeutic proteins from bioreactors in the future.
Countries that have an established sericulture industry could convert their
production facilities to produce medically useful proteins."
Remarkable how we humans struggle to achieve artificial materials and processes, yet periodically return to strictly natural ones for their superiority. I'm not promoting the naturalistic fallacy -- that natural = better -- but it strikes me as a reminder of the power of evolution to produce sophisticated and even elegant processes.
... I wondered why all the kids sleepwear was poly. They're treated for fire-resistance on the one hand, yet melt into your skin on the other.
Notice how cotton and wool have never quite been displaced as clothing. I was explaining the inferiority of polyester to my son at Target today
I'm also reminded of our discovery of ways to hijack bacterial cellular machinery to produce insulin (Humulin) about 20 years ago. (I don't understand the article's reference to insulin produced from "mammalian cells grown in expensive bioreactors" -- it's plain old E. Coli which, although ubiquitous in humans (coli = colon), has a career of its own. The author may be thinking of conventional porcine insulin, a slaughterhouse byproduct, but that's not "grown in expensive bioreactors." Maybe I misunderstand.)
We have a while until we develop Start Trek-level nanobots, and are stuck asking nature for a hand with selected problems.