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Truth is sometimes stranger then fiction. A company is working on developing a better, stronger, lighter body armor material. A material that has all the characteristics that they are looking for is spider silk. However, how do you get enough spider silk to generate a material out of it? They decided to introduce spider DNA to goats. The result is the milk of the goats contains the protiens that create spider silk. They can milk the goats and then harvest the protiens from it to spin the new spider silk. They call the new material "BioSteel". VERY strange. Here is a link to the company web site. Nexia Biotechnologies Inc.Posts: 512 | Registered: Jun 2002
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To introduce one species' DNA into anothers, don't they have to have the same diploid number of chromosomes to be compatible?
Posts: 2756 | Registered: Jul 2002
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Wow! Just think what this could do for the classic "Billy Goats Gruff." It could be modernized!
In this version, the troll gets lured out by the sight of an apparently helpless goat the others leave as an offering. When he steps out, the goats entangle him in a milky web and suck his bodily fluids dry, leaving the dessicated corpse behind them.
*not considering a career as a writer of children's literature*
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Uh.. they way I read it..if you read the site they say that they no longer are intersted in mass producing/spinning for body armour and such, they are now only producing nanotubes and other forms of the biosteel in nano-applications and research.
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I've been hearing about this for so many years I'm starting to wonder if anything's going to come of it. From this company, anyway.
Definately a cool idea and only the tip of the transgenetic iceberg. A science that doesn't seem to bother people so long as it's not in their food or in people.
Posts: 3243 | Registered: Apr 2002
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kaio, they don't need to have the same number of chromosomes. Most likely a portion of DNA was injected into a cell which then recombined into the existing chromosomes. That's the simplified version, of course.
Bacterial plasmids? Virus vectors? I didn't read the article Posts: 1261 | Registered: Apr 2004
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SWEET. So, do the goats have like 8 legs and fangs?
Next thing you know, you're going to see a goat dressed up in a red suit swinging around New York City by her udder.
Posts: 5957 | Registered: Oct 2001
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Heh. In sixth grade, my nick name was "Spider Goat". It then transformed into "Skabibibismipmunkog billapoat", but "spider goat" was the starter. I should show this article to the friend that started it.
And, Dag, I have a hard time imagining myself drinking any goat milk. Ewwww!
Posts: 2292 | Registered: Aug 2003
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It has to be processed to make the silk from the proteins. Otherwise, poor nanny goat! ![[Eek!]](eek.gif)
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