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Tue Nov 10
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  • posts about #textiles more →

    A Cloth Stronger than Kevlar, Made by a Million Spiders

    Wanted Ditches Unrealistic Costumes, But Includes The Destiny Loom

    Furore, a Fur Substitute, is Next-Gen Polyester
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    Image of TheGreenRanger TheGreenRanger
    09/24/09

    In reply to A Cloth Stronger than Kevlar, Made by a Million Spiders
    Forget this kevlar crap, why not use that bear resistant suit that one dude made. Sure, might get a little hot, mobility's an issue, and combat could be a problem, but hey...uh...well...he got the idea from watching robocop, thats gotta count for something.
     Reply
    TheGreenRanger was starred TheGreenRanger was unstarred
    Image of Indigen Indigen
    09/24/09

    In reply to A Cloth Stronger than Kevlar, Made by a Million Spiders
    I'm noticing, Lauren, that your articles often have a strange grammatical error in that makes them uncomfortable to read. Here, you say:

    "While its tensile strength, on par with steel and Kevlar, and the ability to stretch to 40% its length without breaking, spider steel would have numerous practical applications if it could be harnessed on a large scale."

    While... what? You just run on. Here from another article:

    "The researchers have also found that the concentration of water is higher toward the poles, lending credence to the theory that larger deposits of water near the poles, and researchers note that it's possible we'll continue to find wetter lunar regions in the future."

    The theory that larger deposits of water near the poles... do what?

    They really do jar while reading. I am only trying to help.
     Reply
    crashedpc - unrein promoted this comment Indigen was starred Indigen was unstarred
    Image of crashedpc - Haifisch crashedpc - Haifisch
    09/24/09

    @Indigen: I suspect that writing an email will get a prompt response.
     Reply
    crashedpc - Haifisch was starred crashedpc - Haifisch was unstarred
    Image of TheGreenRanger TheGreenRanger
    09/24/09

    @Indigen: grammar nazi!
     Reply
    TheGreenRanger was starred TheGreenRanger was unstarred
    Image of J_Frank_Parnell J_Frank_Parnell
    09/24/09

    In reply to A Cloth Stronger than Kevlar, Made by a Million Spiders
    This is all well and good until the spiders unionize and demand higher wages, benefits and time off.
     Reply
    J_Frank_Parnell was starred J_Frank_Parnell was unstarred
    Image of Anekanta - Space Hippy! Anekanta - Space Hippy!
    09/24/09

    In reply to A Cloth Stronger than Kevlar, Made by a Million Spiders
    It's the Golden Fleece! Watch out for the snake-headed lady!
     Reply
    Anekanta - Space Hippy! was starred Anekanta - Space Hippy! was unstarred
    Image of I Think We're Property I Think We're Property
    09/24/09

    In reply to A Cloth Stronger than Kevlar, Made by a Million Spiders
    "But researchers have been unable to duplicate the material, either chemically or by inserting spider genes into bacteria or more domesticable animals."

    [en.wikipedia.org]

    Wow. That took two whole minutes.
     Reply
    CoffinDodger (If the typos crap. Blame my keyboard) promoted this comment I Think We're Property was starred I Think We're Property was unstarred
    Image of CoffinDodger (If the typos crap. Blame my keyboard) CoffinDodger (If the typos crap. Blame my keyboard)
    09/24/09

    @I Think We're Property: And if we believe everything on Wiki, The Rock is actually a woman and we are all going to die next week from an alien invasion. Besides...how is milky goats silk anything like spider silk???
     Reply
    CoffinDodger (If the typos crap. Blame my keyboard) was starred CoffinDodger (If the typos crap. Blame my keyboard) was unstarred
    Image of crashedpc - Haifisch crashedpc - Haifisch
    09/24/09

    @CoffinDodger (If the typos crap. Blame my keyboard): Well... I do remember reading that the "silk" from the goat's milk was relatively similar to spider's silk; however, it wasn't exactly the same.
     Reply
    crashedpc - Haifisch was starred crashedpc - Haifisch was unstarred
    Image of CoffinDodger (If the typos crap. Blame my keyboard) CoffinDodger (If the typos crap. Blame my keyboard)
    09/24/09

    @crashedpc - unrein: Ive had an idea. Instead of changing the silk. Lets graft another 4 legs onto the goat making 8 legs in total!! Spidergoat. Almost like Spiderpig but not as loveable.
     Reply
    CoffinDodger (If the typos crap. Blame my keyboard) was starred CoffinDodger (If the typos crap. Blame my keyboard) was unstarred
    Image of I Think We're Property I Think We're Property
    09/24/09

    @CoffinDodger (If the typos crap. Blame my keyboard): ... well, this particular factoid does have cited sources, and there are articles about the process in peer-reviewed journals. So there is that.

    Also, its the same protein, just being secreted from the goat's mammary gland. Separating it from the milk and spooling it has apparently been successful, and the biotech company working on this says they'll have prototypes of woven cloth and bulletproof vests soon. So yeah, pretty close, apparently.

    Of course, all that took a whole 5 to 10 minutes to gather. I understand how that might have been difficult.
     Reply
    I Think We're Property was starred I Think We're Property was unstarred
    Image of CSX321 CSX321
    09/24/09

    @CoffinDodger (If the typos crap. Blame my keyboard):
    If you don't like Wikipedia, here's an article from National Geographic:
    [news.nationalgeographic.com]
     Reply
    Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H. promoted this comment CSX321 was starred CSX321 was unstarred
    Image of Annalee Newitz Annalee Newitz
    09/24/09

    @I Think We're Property: Yeah this sounds like somebody who works with BioSteel TM put that on Wikipedia to advertise their product.
     Reply
    Annalee Newitz was starred Annalee Newitz was unstarred
    Image of CoffinDodger (If the typos crap. Blame my keyboard) CoffinDodger (If the typos crap. Blame my keyboard)
    09/24/09

    @Annalee Newitz: I agree. The most difficult thing was trying not to laugh my ass of at the BioSteel spiel being spouted on wiki.

    @I Think We're Property: I had no difficulty reading your stuff or laughing at your hilarious sense of humour. But ive just had a phone call from BioSteel, they say their main goat milker is missing. Ive told them you'll be half an hour tops!!!
     Reply
    CoffinDodger (If the typos crap. Blame my keyboard) was starred CoffinDodger (If the typos crap. Blame my keyboard) was unstarred
    Image of 1Grand_Marquis 1Grand_Marquis
    09/24/09

    @I Think We're Property: Yeah, I've known about that for, like, several years. Back in 03, the thought was that by now, they were supposed to have the silk in full production. Hold up? Or is it just not working the way they expected? My vote's on the latter, because - seriously - they're using goats. Seriously.
     Reply
    BadUncle promoted this comment 1Grand_Marquis was starred 1Grand_Marquis was unstarred
    Image of BadUncle BadUncle
    09/24/09

    @1Grand_Marquis: You've never faced the danger of black widow goats, have you?
     Reply
    BadUncle was starred BadUncle was unstarred
    Image of Boas_MC Boas_MC
    09/25/09

    @BadUncle: At least they're easy to spot, with that big red hourglass on their bellies.
     Reply
    Boas_MC was starred Boas_MC was unstarred
    Image of Dr Emilio Lizardo Dr Emilio Lizardo
    09/24/09

    In reply to A Cloth Stronger than Kevlar, Made by a Million Spiders
    Girl: "So what do you do?"
    Guy: "Well, I own a few million spiders, I extract their silk and weave it into things."

    Yeah, that conversation is not going in a direction that gets him action.
     Reply
    Dr Emilio Lizardo was starred Dr Emilio Lizardo was unstarred
    Image of Rasselas Rasselas
    09/24/09

    @Dr Emilio Lizardo: What about "I own a spider-silk textile factory; check out this gilt-edged scarf"?
     Reply
    Rasselas was starred Rasselas was unstarred
    Image of Indigen Indigen
    09/24/09

    @Rasselas: What about as soon as a woman spouts the "what do you do" script you walk away? That's what I do and I have a nominally respectable job. I never ask them what they do. I don't care and it isn't important when you're meeting someone. It's a horrible, stultifying, boring conversation and even wanting to start it indicates personality traits I'm not interested in exploring.
     Reply
    Sunshineyness promoted this comment Indigen was starred Indigen was unstarred
    Image of Sunshineyness Sunshineyness
    09/24/09

    @Indigen: This is totally off topic but I completely agree. I don't define people by their jobs and I hate when other people do it to me. "What do you do?" is to being an adult as "what's your major?" was in college- something you ask when you have no idea what else to say to a person.
     Reply
    Sunshineyness was starred Sunshineyness was unstarred
    Image of TheGreenRanger TheGreenRanger
    09/24/09

    @Sunshineyness: eh, it was just a joke guys...
     Reply
    TheGreenRanger was starred TheGreenRanger was unstarred
    Image of CoffinDodger (If the typos crap. Blame my keyboard) CoffinDodger (If the typos crap. Blame my keyboard)
    09/24/09

    In reply to A Cloth Stronger than Kevlar, Made by a Million Spiders
    So it has tensile strength like Kevlar and Steel. Does that mean it can take a bullet, I only ask because im no expert in clothing or textiles. But it would be cool to know? I suppose if the answers yes, making machines to duplicate this stuff needs to be sped up. Our soldiers, police and security could do with stuff quickly. How about spider silk gloves. The strength of the silk but you could stick to walls like spiderman ahem*
     Reply
    CoffinDodger (If the typos crap. Blame my keyboard) was starred CoffinDodger (If the typos crap. Blame my keyboard) was unstarred
    Image of braak braak
    09/24/09

    @CoffinDodger (If the typos crap. Blame my keyboard): Ostensibly, yes, depending on certain conditions--how it's woven, how thick it is, what kind of bullet we're talking about, &c.
     Reply
    braak was starred braak was unstarred
    Image of MrTim MrTim
    09/24/09

    @CoffinDodger (If the typos crap. Blame my keyboard): As I understand it the bullet stopping capability of Kevlar has as much or more to do with its structure as its strength. I'd guess that it holds up to bullets a little better than regular silk, but is pretty decent at resisting cuts and scrapes.

    As for spiders sticking to walls, that has nothing to do with their silk. A spider can climb a wall because a) it has special hair-like structures on its legs and b) it's a lot lighter than a human.
     Reply
    CoffinDodger (If the typos crap. Blame my keyboard) promoted this comment MrTim was starred MrTim was unstarred
    Image of CoffinDodger (If the typos crap. Blame my keyboard) CoffinDodger (If the typos crap. Blame my keyboard)
    09/24/09

    @MrTim: Then hair like structured gloves is what we need. That and I need to lose a few stone!!
     Reply
    CoffinDodger (If the typos crap. Blame my keyboard) was starred CoffinDodger (If the typos crap. Blame my keyboard) was unstarred
    Image of psychiccheese psychiccheese
    09/24/09

    @CoffinDodger (If the typos crap. Blame my keyboard): Even if it could take a bullet, would you really want it to?

    Assume it can hold up to the force of a bullet. Now it's stretching up to 40% more, at the same speed as the bullet before stopping. So you've now got not only a bullet stuck in your chest, but a bullet proof scarf as well.
     Reply
    Boas_MC promoted this comment psychiccheese was starred psychiccheese was unstarred
    Image of RoboBagins RoboBagins
    09/24/09

    In reply to A Cloth Stronger than Kevlar, Made by a Million Spiders
    While this peace offering from the Spiderian race is appreciated, we must hold fast and regretfully decline to amend the Human-Spiderian treaty.

    You are still free to take up residence in our living spaces, and we are still free to pursue and eliminate individual Spiderians who break the "Out of sight, out of mind" agreement.
     Reply
    Edited by RoboBagins at 09/24/09 9:25 AM RoboBagins was starred RoboBagins was unstarred
    Image of dancekat1 dancekat1
    09/24/09

    @RoboBagins PAX'd till he Plotz'd: I used a can of raid. Was that a war crimes violation? I don't want to be subject to Spiderian international courts. They'll pry my shoe from my cold dead hands.
     Reply
    Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H. promoted this comment dancekat1 was starred dancekat1 was unstarred
    Image of TheGreenRanger TheGreenRanger
    09/24/09

    @dancekat1: As long as the spiderians remain steadfast in their duties to keep moths out of my cereal.
     Reply
    TheGreenRanger was starred TheGreenRanger was unstarred
    Image of Rasselas Rasselas
    09/24/09

    In reply to A Cloth Stronger than Kevlar, Made by a Million Spiders
    Somebody tell Roald Dahl's Uncle Oswald.
     Reply
    Rasselas was starred Rasselas was unstarred
    Image of Gein07 Gein07
    09/24/09

    In reply to A Cloth Stronger than Kevlar, Made by a Million Spiders
    So when can I get a snuggie made out of this stuff?
     Reply
    crashedpc - unrein promoted this comment Gein07 was starred Gein07 was unstarred
    Image of crashedpc - Haifisch crashedpc - Haifisch
    09/24/09

    @Gein07: Spider snuggies? That'll take about 5 years. Hope you have a blanket handy while waiting.
     Reply
    crashedpc - Haifisch was starred crashedpc - Haifisch was unstarred
    Image of FrankenPC FrankenPC
    09/24/09

    In reply to A Cloth Stronger than Kevlar, Made by a Million Spiders
    Nano machines will be able to mimic spinnerets soon enough.
     Reply
    FrankenPC was starred FrankenPC was unstarred
    Image of CodenameV CodenameV
    09/24/09

    In reply to A Cloth Stronger than Kevlar, Made by a Million Spiders
    what is this guy, stupid? In my genetics class, we were ALREADY talking about this, BUT that research wants to try to make spidersilk the way we ALREADY make insulin: splice the spidersilk genes into bacteria, grow large bacteria cultures in vats, then put it in a centrifuge to strain out the spidersilk...sort of like how nylon is made, synthetically, now.

    Instead, he developed a labor-intensive and needlessly complicated way to get spidersilk from the actual spiders?

    yikes
     Reply
    Pope John Peeps II promoted this comment CodenameV was starred CodenameV was unstarred
    Image of Pope John Peeps II Pope John Peeps II
    09/24/09

    @CodenameV: Fucking hell. Did you read the article at ALL before you came on here and started swinging the tiny flailing penis of your intelligence to try to prove how superior you are?

    1) The dude in question isn't a researcher. He's a textile expert.

    2) The article mentions SPECIFICALLY that no one has yet succeeded in inserting the "spider silk gene" into bacteria.
     Reply
    Pope John Peeps II was starred Pope John Peeps II was unstarred
    Image of crashedpc - Haifisch crashedpc - Haifisch
    09/24/09

    @CodenameV: Someone poop in your coffee today?
     Reply
    crashedpc - Haifisch was starred crashedpc - Haifisch was unstarred
    Image of ExtensionOfBob ExtensionOfBob
    09/24/09

    @CodenameV: "But researchers have been unable to duplicate the material, either chemically or by inserting spider genes into bacteria or more domesticable animals."

    This guy is a textile expert, not a geneticist.

    That's like yelling at a painter for mixing his own paint from berries or whatever instead of buying artificial paints from the store.
     Reply
    crashedpc - unrein promoted this comment ExtensionOfBob was starred ExtensionOfBob was unstarred
    Image of crashedpc - Haifisch crashedpc - Haifisch
    09/24/09

    @ExtensionOfBob: Fucking berries! They're meant for EATING!
     Reply
    crashedpc - Haifisch was starred crashedpc - Haifisch was unstarred
    Image of CoffinDodger (If the typos crap. Blame my keyboard) CoffinDodger (If the typos crap. Blame my keyboard)
    09/24/09

    @crashedpc - unrein: Not all berries. I ate one once and turned yellow!! I slept for days dreaming of spider silk and the possibiltys of putting actual spiders into centrifuges. It was messy and the outcome was pretty poor.
     Reply
    CoffinDodger (If the typos crap. Blame my keyboard) was starred CoffinDodger (If the typos crap. Blame my keyboard) was unstarred
    Image of crashedpc - Haifisch crashedpc - Haifisch
    09/24/09

    @CoffinDodger (If the typos crap. Blame my keyboard): Apparently the effects of the berries linger still in your body.
     Reply
    crashedpc - Haifisch was starred crashedpc - Haifisch was unstarred
    Image of CoffinDodger (If the typos crap. Blame my keyboard) CoffinDodger (If the typos crap. Blame my keyboard)
    09/24/09

    @crashedpc - unrein: They do. I went to work the other day riding a bull.
     Reply
    CoffinDodger (If the typos crap. Blame my keyboard) was starred CoffinDodger (If the typos crap. Blame my keyboard) was unstarred
    Image of psychiccheese psychiccheese
    09/24/09

    @ExtensionOfBob: It's even worse than yelling at a painter, since in this case, you can't even buy paint from the store.
     Reply
    Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H. promoted this comment psychiccheese was starred psychiccheese was unstarred
    Image of matthewabel matthewabel
    09/24/09

    @crashedpc - unrein:

    This comment is win.
     Reply
    Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H. promoted this comment matthewabel was starred matthewabel was unstarred
    Image of Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H. Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H.
    09/24/09

    @Pope John Peeps II: This "the tiny flailing penis of your intelligence" is a great phrase that applies to so much of the internet.
     Reply
    Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H. was starred Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H. was unstarred
    Image of reddingofish reddingofish
    09/24/09

    In reply to A Cloth Stronger than Kevlar, Made by a Million Spiders
    Will the museum folks let you touch the cloth?
     Reply
    Edited by reddingofish at 09/24/09 8:47 AM reddingofish was starred reddingofish was unstarred
    Image of nozer nozer
    09/24/09

    @reddingofish: This is what I want to know. I don't want to trek up there, give them a donation, and then not be able to stretch and feel a spider cloth.
     Reply
    nozer was starred nozer was unstarred
    Image of Lupus_Yonderboy Lupus_Yonderboy
    09/24/09

    @nozer: Please replace the words "cloth" and "spider cloth" with "Picasso" and see how it sounds:

    "Will the museum folks let you touch the Picasso?"

    "This is what I want to know. I don't want to trek up there, give them a donation, and then not be able to stretch and feel a Picasso."

    The answer is no, the museum will not let its tens of thousands of visitors every day mangle its exhibits. Please don't touch anything in a museum, ever (even if it "doesn't have a rope around it") unless you are specifically invited to do so (which, if it's a one-of-a-kind work of art/technology, you won't be).

    Sorry about the rant, one of my many pet peeves.
     Reply
    Lupus_Yonderboy was starred Lupus_Yonderboy was unstarred
    Image of nozer nozer
    09/24/09

    @Lupus_Yonderboy: Haha, well I completely understand. I would never touch anything in a museum unless I was specifically invited to do so. The comment was half-joke/half-desperately hoping that i could test out the extreme durability of the textile in an extremely supervised situation. The Natural History Museum is known for having some hands-on stuff, but it was definitely more of a dream.

    I learned my lesson after I threw that acid at the Mona Lisa.
     Reply
    Boas_MC promoted this comment nozer was starred nozer was unstarred
    Image of averna13 averna13
    09/24/09

    In reply to A Cloth Stronger than Kevlar, Made by a Million Spiders
    Don't let Bender anywhere NEAR that thing.
     Reply
    Invisible-Echidna promoted this comment averna13 was starred averna13 was unstarred
    Image of Invisible-Echidna Invisible-Echidna
    09/24/09

    @averna13: I'm saddened by this comment because I wasn't anywhere close to thinking of it after the article. :(
     Reply
    Invisible-Echidna was starred Invisible-Echidna was unstarred
    Image of Tiber Tiber
    09/24/09

    In reply to A Cloth Stronger than Kevlar, Made by a Million Spiders
    Rather than trying to replicate it, they'd be better off trying to make carbon nanofiber thread. It's about 4 times stronger than spider thread, and 17 times stronger than Kevlar.
     Reply
    acrobatic rabbit promoted this comment Tiber was starred Tiber was unstarred
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