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Scientists Spin Synthetic Spider Silk
Look out, Spiderman! The US Military is planning to make its own web slingers! Not quite, but they're hoping to find a way to create the silk in spider webs and put them in bullet proof body armor.
Spider silk is strong, lightweight, stretchable and really good at absorbing energy. Weight for weight, the silk is five times stronger than steel!
Spider silk could be used in all sorts of things, not just body armor. It could be used to make clothes for sports, and medical supplies such as stitches.
People have known about spider silk's usefulness, but the problem was nobody knew how to make enough of it. But now scientists are figuring that out.
Biologists in California have identified the genes and DNA in spider silk. And a company in Canada called Nexia has actually created it! They did it in the laboratory by combining cells taken from hamsters and cows with spider protein. Nexia is now breeding goats whose milk contains spider DNA! They plan to use the cells from the milk to make more spider silk.
I'm Adelbert and that's what happened in Science this week!
Do you know your spiders? Let's find out in my Match Game!
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