Scientists Close to Synthesizing Spider Silk: After...

Scientists Close to Synthesizing Spider Silk: After centuries of failed efforts to mass-produce spider silk, scientists are close to synthesizing the fiber that is softer than cotton yet stronger than steel, according to a report published this week in the Sciences, a magazine published by the New York Academy of Sciences. Spider silk could be used in bulletproof vests and other protective clothing and in making specialty items such as parachute cords, which are subject to huge swings in temperatures, said May Berenbaum, professor of entomology at the University of Illinois and author of the report. Genetic research has brought scientists close to being able to produce synthetic spider silk, she said, but they are still a few years away from being able to produce it in quantities large enough to make it economical to use. Mass-producing silk from spiders has proven impossible because of the painstaking efforts needed to raise the spiders and harvest their silk. One spider can provide more than a hundred feet of silk at a time but then must rest for a few days to replenish its supply, Berenbaum wrote.