this post was submitted on 22 Sep 2023
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Gene-edited spider silk 6x stronger than bulletproof Kevlar (interestingengineering.com)
submitted 1 year ago by Bobo@lemm.ee to c/science@beehaw.org
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Chinese Scientists have introduced an innovative, green alternative to nylon and Kevlar

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[–] nyhetsjunkie@beehaw.org 11 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Is it spider silk though? Can't have gene edited spider silk without gene edited spiders. This is gene edited silkworm silk. Or am I missing something about silk?

[–] SatanicNotMessianic@lemmy.ml 17 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Yes, it’s spider silk. These silkworms are transgenic. Their silk-producing genes have been replaced by spider silk-producing genes.

[–] ForestOrca@kbin.social 7 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I need a pair of jeans made out of this, or a nice shirt. Maybe work gloves? When will this hit the open market?

[–] QuinceDaPence@kbin.social 5 points 1 year ago

I need rolls of cloth from it like you can get fiberglass, kevlar/aramid, and carbon fiber.

I do wonder about it's strength to weight ratio though.

Like, it's 6x stronger than aramid fiber but if it's 6x heavier then it doesn't really help. Also how's it compare to carbon fiber?