Spider silk and goat milk--what could possibly be the connection? Let's start with the spiders. Humans love spider webs, but aren't so crazy about their builders. While spiders make some people flinch, there's no escaping the appreciation for their masterful web construction.
"There's a lot of interest in spider silk fibers because they're stronger than almost any other manmade fiber and they're also elastic," says Randy Lewis, professor of molecular biology at the University of Wyoming in Laramie.
Since ancient times, there's been a fascination with spider webs because of that combination of qualities. There's folklore going back to the first century A.D., when spider webs were used as dressings for wounds. Twenty-first century experts are looking at silk for many of the same reasons.
"So there are a lot of applications," continues Lewis. "People are interested in them for things like artificial ligaments and artificial tendons, bulletproof vests and even car airbags--something that would allow you to be contained, but not blown back in your seat."
But, whether it's for super-strong sutures for surgery or an air bag, how do you come up with enough raw material? Spider farms have been tried, but arachnids tend to kill each other.
"The problem is that the spiders are territorial, and so no matter what you do, there are only a certain number of spiders you can put in a certain space," says Lewis.
That's where the goats come in. With help from the National Science Foundation (NSF), Lewis and his team have figured out a way to put the spider's silk-making genes into goats.
