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."

Comments

Spider silk from goats and caterpillars

[beeplet]

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!

who are these hacks?

[my_fake_account]

"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?

It's all in the spinning

[gbulmash]

According to an article on the spider silk goats, way back when, the proteins were fine, but the real trick was in the extrusion. The way the spiders spin the proteins into the final product is a *major* factor in the strength and versatility of the silk. It's not just spinning them into silk that's the trick, there's a certain finesse to it that they don't seem to have quite right yet.

- Greg