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Spider Silk Genetically Engineered
An anonymous reader writes "Commercial silk comes not from spiders, but from the silk moth (spiders are hard to coral). But spider silk is stronger, so engineers, including in the Army, would like to use it for armor, tethers, and clothing. Scientists at Nexia Biotechnologies bioengineered some in 2002, but in a two-step process not ready for prime time. According to a LiveScience article, a separate team has now created self-spinning spider-web fiber. More work is still needed to produce anything useful, but the researchers say it might happen within a decade."
Is anyone working on a wrist-mounted launching device for this stuff?
Commercial silk comes not from spiders, but from the silk moth (spiders are hard to coral).
And spider silk doesn't come from spiders either - Nexia used transgenic goats (which secreted the silk proteins in their milk) and this group is using transgenic caterpillar cells. I just think this is an interesting story in the context of the recent stories on genetic chimeras. Now if they could create a transgenic animal that would actually spin the spider silk, they's be all set!
... when I can buy a charcoal black uniform with arachnofiber weave.
Don't blame me, I voted for Durga.
"Before my Spidey sense is tingling!" really becomes a pickup line?
I really can't believe I'm so anal as to not only notice the error, but point it out to this extent. Thats what I get for being a spelling bee champ marrying into a farming family.
I like to place meaningful quotes in my sig, so people will know that I know what meaningful quotes are.
"Spiders are hard to coral"
/. I'm not new here. 8)
Huh? A new marine animal? Perhaps a new form of measuring hardness? (Spiders are as hard as coral. Take that, Moh's Scale!) Or perhaps a failure of auto-spellchecking and lack of editorial review.
Spiders are, in fact, hard to corral.
But I expect this from
Moo.
Uhm.... I just said that.
I like to place meaningful quotes in my sig, so people will know that I know what meaningful quotes are.
It's not so much that spiders are tough to corral compared with silkworms, it's that most spiders are incredibly territorial creatures. To raise silkworms, you just need some specimens and a few mulberry bushes- hundreds of silkworms will happily coexist on a bush, and eventually will grow up and spin the silk cocoons you're after. Put an equivalent number of spiders in the same space, even with ample food available, and they will kill and eat each other until all territorial disputes have been resolved to the satisfaction of all (living) parties.
"Spiders, being territorial, are impossible to domesticate."
Horses, dogs, cats, and chickens are all territorial, but they've been domesticated.
Do they have editors at this magazine?
At last! We can go back to silk! sort of.
Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
- Greg
Start a happiness pandemic
we're still chasing spiders?
So this is how we'll destroy ourselves - not with fire or machines, but by clogging the world with self-replicating spider silk!
You're all discussing the mis-spelling (yeah, yeah, comment away - I'm sure this is wrong too) of a funny line, and missing the point of this!
Spider silk is so cool! It's got a tensile strength even higher than Kevlar and is seen as a natural replacement for that material, espeically once we can mass produce it. It's lightweight, extremely strong, and if you coat it with Starlite, you've got battle armor that could withstand a nuclear hit! How much cooler can you get?
--LWM
Actually, I think you meant to write:
That's
and not
Thats
Courtesy of your friendly neighborhood punctuation Nazi.
"sweet dreams are made of this..."