Genetically Modified Silkworms Produce Stronger-Than-Steel Spider Silk
- Posted on January 4, 2012 at 12:30pm by
Liz Klimas
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Earlier this year, an artist with the help of Forensic Genomics Consortium Netherlands and Utah State University created “bullet-proof skin” from human skin cells and modified spider silk. Now, research out of University of Wyoming has genetically modified silkworms to produce spider silk in viable quantities.
Silkworm cocoons supply material that can be made into threat and woven into cloth.
BBC reports that “farming” spider silk from arachnids is not cost-effective because they do not produce enough of the material. Silkworms, on the other hand, can make more material but without the coveted strength of spider silk.
According to the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, which published the research this month, scientists created transgenic silkworms that produced material that was a combination of both silks. The researchers state that the silk was stronger than that of just the parent silkworm and “as tough as native dragline spider silk fibers.”
Discovery Magazine reports that only 2 to 5 percent of the silk produced was like that from spiders, but it was enough to make it significantly stronger and reveals a viable technique to modify the worms with successful outcomes:
“The next step will be to produce silkworms that produce silk fibres consisting entirely of spider silk proteins,” says [Dr Donald Jarvis lead researcher from the University of Wyoming]
The Daily Mail has more on spider silk applications from Jarvis:
“Spider silks have enormous potential as biomaterials for various applications, but serious obstacles to spider farming preclude the natural manufacturing approach.
“Thus, there is a need to develop an effective biotechnological approach for spider silk fibre production.
“In addition to being used as sutures, silk fibres hold great potential as biomaterials for wound dressings, artificial ligaments, tendons, tissue scaffolds, microcapsules, and other applications.
“Silkworms are the current biological source of silk sutures, but spider silk fibres have superior mechanical properties that are ideal for procedures requiring finer sutures, such as ocular, neurological, and cosmetic surgeries.
“These results demonstrate that silkworms can be engineered to manufacture composite silk fibres containing stably integrated spider silk protein sequences, which significantly improve the overall mechanical properties of the parental silkworm silk fibres.”
Discover Magazine describes the strength of spider silk as the toughest biological material in existence and 10 times tougher than Kevlar.
In 2010, the University of Notre Dame and researchers at Wyoming collaborated to create an artificial material similar to that of spider silk. Learn more about that discovery, which was the first commercially viable platform for creating this strong material at the time, in this video:
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spasm
Posted on January 5, 2012 at 6:40pmHey The Blaze, please for the love of Mike and all his work try and be accurate when you report stories. Ah nevermind, keep to the entertainment side of things and leave the journalism to the the professionals.
GENETICALLY MODIFIED SILKWORMS PRODUCE STRONGER-THAN-STEEL SPIDER SILK
Really, silkworms produce spider silk? I thought spiders produce spider silk..??
http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1111024
Report Post »Dark Horse
Posted on January 5, 2012 at 6:14pmI’ll tell you what, you take your expensive silk and I will take my 300 win mag and we’ll see who wins
Report Post »Michaelbak
Posted on January 7, 2012 at 12:39amProbably the silk…
Report Post »Rweb
Posted on January 5, 2012 at 2:54pmThe real story is genetically modified. GMO products are every where corn, fish and on and on. Do you want to eat fish spliced with spiders.
Report Post »TiocFaidhArLa
Posted on January 5, 2012 at 10:27amit always was stronger than steel
Report Post »Rowgue
Posted on January 5, 2012 at 1:11pmThe story is that silkworms are producing SPIDER silk rather than normal silkworm silk. Meaning it could be produced in quantities that make it viable for real world applications.
Report Post »sic-semper-tyrannus
Posted on January 5, 2012 at 10:18amMithral Armour? Shweet! The Kahn officers of the Mongols wore spider silk armour. Neat stuff but it takes patience to cultivate.
Report Post »VigilantGuardShark
Posted on January 5, 2012 at 9:13amMass production of spider silk fibers will have a huge impact on the US military. Stronger, lighter armour for Troops, Tanks, Vehicles of all sorts. It should compliment the powered armouring of our Troops drempt of by the Military for years.
Report Post »SgtB
Posted on January 5, 2012 at 10:29amI’m betting not. While spider silk is stronger and lighter than Kevlar, Kevlar is not the part of the armor that is heavy. Also, the Kevlar is not the part of the armor that will stop a rifle round. Now, if all we fought with were pistols of large and slow calibers, then yes, it would make armor better. But the facts are that this material only protects from a single threat. You can shoot a rifle bullet through it. You can stab through it. It doesn’t protect you from concussive forces, fire, or blunt force trauma. It protects you from what is basically shrapnel.
Now, don’t get me wrong, protecting from shrapnel is great. But we need to focus on protection from high velocity rifle strike, blade penetration, and fire as well. BTW, fire protection is the reason service men and women couldn’t wear underarmour for years. Apparently, it would melt to flesh or something. But I digress, where we need to focus our materials science is on lighter and better armor for vehicles. The Air Force has already developed a “clear aluminum” that can stop a .50 cal round with only a half inch of glass. The current up-armored glass is several inches thick and isn’t guaranteed to stop such a bullet. And all that glass is heavy making emergency egress harder as well as adding to our maintenance costs because a heavier vehicle wears down faster.
Report Post »Pearsontech
Posted on January 5, 2012 at 2:25pm@sgtb sweet now all we need is a Klingon bird of prey and a couple of humpback whales named George and Gracie…. LOL
Report Post »MrObvious
Posted on January 5, 2012 at 5:31amSounds cool.
Genetic Engineering, like almost all tech, has it’s good and bad points.
Unlabeled BT corn = bad point, although it’s also an epic failure of government to properly regulate the industry. If honor existed in government, produce from genetically modified sources would be required by law to be labeled as such; but, it doesn’t, so they’re not.
Report Post »SgtB
Posted on January 5, 2012 at 10:34amNo only that, but they’ve allowed corporations to patent genetic code. So if the farmer next door has GMO corn that and it’s pollen touches your crop, they can legally take your crop from you for violating their patent “rights”. And you can forget about saving seed. The problem is so bad in India that many farmers are destroying their own crops and committing suicide over what Monsanto has been allowed to do. Of course, people here don’t commit suicide over this, they just lose their livelihood, their home, and go on gov’t assistance so they can live out the remainder of their short life in a nursing home instead of being a productive member of society. I think suicide is a better option myself.
Report Post »Chuck Stein
Posted on January 5, 2012 at 1:33amNice work, University of Wyoming
Report Post »MCDAVE
Posted on January 5, 2012 at 12:51amThese Frankenstein hybrids will get loose and eat our forests down..Genetic engineering is a mistake..we should know that by now.
Report Post »jb.kibs
Posted on January 5, 2012 at 12:31amThis will end in Epic Failure. ;)
Report Post »silentme63
Posted on January 5, 2012 at 9:52amDo you think God created us to modify his creation? Proof we are living in the last days.
Report Post »louise
Posted on January 5, 2012 at 1:49pmSilentme,
Your post should make people take a step back and think. It reminded me also of cloning. I see man saying, “Come let us make ourselves in our own image.”
God bless and take care.
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