When I began researching The Gecko’s Foot, around a decade ago now, spider silk was the hottest material in the bioinspired armoury. But after the high-profile attempts to produce spider silk from genetically engineered goats failed, the subject was back-burnered. The spider silk genes are so large and repetitive and the processing of the gel in the spinnerets so subtle that the spider kept its secret.
But now scientists at the University of Wyoming have done what might have seemed a good idea form the start: insert the spider silk genes into the silkworm. Silkworms have been commercial silk-producing organisms for millennia so this is promising at last. The research is reported in the US Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The fact that the silk comes out of Laramie prompts the thought that spider-silk lariats might be a good idea. Rein in that steer with spider power!
But now scientists at the University of Wyoming have done what might have seemed a good idea form the start: insert the spider silk genes into the silkworm. Silkworms have been commercial silk-producing organisms for millennia so this is promising at last. The research is reported in the US Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The fact that the silk comes out of Laramie prompts the thought that spider-silk lariats might be a good idea. Rein in that steer with spider power!
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