As kids, we've all dreamed of having superpowers (actually, I think we still do). And one of the most popular superheroes, with over 200 million hits on Google, countless merchandise, a plethora of 8-year-old impersonators and a new film to be released about him this year is the one and only Spider-Man. Picture him in your head it's pretty likely you imagine him swinging across the New York rooftops fighting the bad guys. Something like this:
His weapon of choice: the web. Not the world-wide-web, which now dominates a Google search of 'web' (http://bit.ly/uC48UQ), but a good ol'-fashioned spider's web. And what makes up a web? Spider silk. And scientist are one step closer to making Spidey's web-slinging a reality.
We harvest silk from silkworms (obviously) but its main use is in creating comfortable clothes. Spider silk, on the other hand, is (weight-for-weight) five-times stronger than steel. It's true. After all, stands of spider silk a tenth of the thickness of a human hair can trap an insect travelling at 20mph without breaking.
| Trapped |
However, it is currently impossible to 'farm' spider silk in large quantities because spiders are very territorial, don't produce very much of it, and many spiders are quite happy to practise cannibalism. The most famous to do so I believe is the black widow (who is, coincidentally, another a Marvel character). Silkworms, conversely, produce lots of silk and are easy to farm. So how to get the best of both?
The answer is not 'pop down to Tesco and look in the bread aisle' nor is it anything to do with 'Hannah Montana', but rather, it is GM (Genetic Modification). Scientists have found the gene responsible in spider's for making spider silk and have transplanted it into other animals for years but attempts have been futile. Scientist even managed to transplant the gene into goats (of all animals) so their milk produced the protein that makes up the silk. I've heard of milking a goat...but 'silking' one? It wasn't completely successful. Maybe a Spider-Pig next time?
New work led by Professor Don Jarvis of the University of Wyoming involves inserting the spider silk gene into silkworms and has managed to result in a composite of silk from both (2 to 5% spider silk) being produced in large quantities. It is four times stronger than normal silk and nearly as tough as spider silk. The next step is to get the silkworms to produce pure spider silk.
The silkworms are spinning spider silk alongside their own and the properties of the silk have been greatly enhanced. This spider silk will be invaluable. It will be used mainly in the medical sector where it'll create stronger ligaments, implants, artificial limbs and sutures (stitches). Further uses could include composing greener substitutes for toughened plastics (which require a lot of energy in production and use up finite resources) out of the silk as well as in the constitution of parachutes, bulletproof vests or even suspension bridges!
There are concerns though. If any of the GM spiders escape, who knows what could happen? Spiderworm giving someone superpowers? I doubt it, but realistically, they could affect the dynamics of the ecosystem. This does seem like meddling with nature and we cannot be 100% of any consequences that will occur. This is no doubt a potentially beneficial modification as well as being pretty cool (I had to say it, I want to be Spiderman) but do the ethical issues outweigh the advantages? We will have to see what the future holds.
Thanks for reading :)
Suhayl.
Sources:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-16399257
http://www.uwyo.edu/uw/news/2012/01/uw-researchers-engineer-silkworms-to-produce-stronger-silk.html
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/CuttingEdge/spinning-tough-spider-silk-goat-milk/story?id=98095#.Twjj-m915Bk
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/889951.stm
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