Wednesday, August 6, 2008

David A.

According to reports scientists have successfully genetically altered a goats embryo with the DNA of a spider. These genetically altered goats produced (mutated) in a laboratory are presently producing milk that is being used to make bullet-proof vests. The claim is that the fibers contained in the spider goat`s milk are twice as strong as Kevlar!

Genetically modified (GM) Goats that now produce spider`s web protein are about to revolutionise the materials industry. Stronger and more flexible than steel, spider `silk milk` offers a lightweight alternative to traditional carbon fibre.

A Canadian company claims to be on the cutting-edge of producing unlimited quantities of spider silk which is ultimately extracted from goat`s milk. Remember Dolly the sheep? Well, techniques similar to those but more specific to nuclear transfer are currently being used by scientists at Nexia Biotechnologies in Quebec.

BioSteel supposedly has advantages that make it compatible with the human body too, allowing for the development of tough artificial tendons, ligaments and limbs. Tissue repair and wound healing are also top of the list as well as ultra-thin, biodegradable sutures for eye or neurosurgery.

"The medical need for super-strong, flexible and biodegradable materials is large," said Costas Karatzas, Nexia`s Vice President of Research and Development.

Okay, now for those Gather members who are lovers of goat cheese there`s no need to worry. This milk will not be for human consumption. The goal of Nexia is to retrieve the spider-silk proteins from the milk and turn them into BioSteel, which could be used in everything from body armor to spacecraft construction. It could even strengthen the structural steel used in buildings. (Although it would have to be carefully sealed from the environment so bacteria wouldn`t eat it.)

These genetic advances have many people concerned. Every advance in cloning makes it more likely that someone will try to clone a human, which many opponents feel would threaten the integrity of being human. And, yet doomsdayers see a nightmare world in which clones are created simply to provide body parts. Since the clones would be genetically identical, organs from them would not be rejected by the original`s body.

Additionally there are paramount concerns about the cross-species exchange of genes. Critics point out that living systems are so much more complicated than we appreciate that we can`t know what consequences cross-species engineering will have.

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