October 25, 2007

The first man made spider silk

Researchers from Nexia Bio Tech and the US Army, have been working on producing a man made spider silk from Mammal Cell Cultures which have been taken from cows.

The product will be used for producing the Nexia Bio Steel Fibre, this can be used for many products including sutures, biodegradable fishing lines and for making a soft light body armour, hence the Army’s interest in the product.

The military application will rely on the threads being strong, Nexia believe that they are unlikely to get to that stage for another 18 to 24 months, but the product will be stronger and lighter than Kevlar, the material that body armour is currently made from.

Source [Wired]