Genetically Engineered Silkworms Spin Spider Silk 188
disco_tracy writes "Silkworms have been modified to produce spider silk, creating a fabric that could be used in everything from bulletproof clothing to artificial tendons." For some reason, this is far less revolting to me than the idea of spider silk being milked out of goats.
Re:Cool (Score:4, Insightful)
Why? It's the most cutting edge technology in the world.. I don't know how you can call yourself a geek and not be at least marginally interested in it.
Re:Cool (Score:5, Insightful)
Why?
For a lot of reasons. It's being pursued without any caution whatsoever. Look at the Nazi scientists at Monsanto. Nearly killed the Monarch butterflies and have actively researched and implemented "death codes" into their projects to protect intellectual property that should have never been granted. Technology aside, they are far more damaging than the entertainment Mafiaa to the world with their lawsuits, strong arm tactics, reduced seed diversity, and just plain extortion of farmers the world over.
Cool technology to be sure, but the people that are involved in it certainly don't seem to have humanity's interests at heart.
Not to mention I feel that not enough research is really conducted to determine if the GMO food they are producing is really healthy in the first place. What are the real affects to humans eating it? Animals eating it? Affect on the environment in which it is grown (Monarch Butterflies again)?
BTW, the poster said critical of the technology, and did not indicate any level of disinterest. I am greatly interested in GMO technology, but pursued correctly and safely and absolutely without any ridiculous BS of the deathcodes being inside it..
You don't have to be crazy or disinterested in GMO to be highly critical of companies like Monsanto. I am sure someone will claim that I am trolling, ignorant, and misinformed of GMO. Perhaps that is true. My statements regarding Monsanto though, stand on well-known facts. Just maybe, maybe, GMO might be more accepted if Monsanto had never been formed as a company.
Re:Cool (Score:4, Insightful)
- Dan.
Re:Almost there (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Cool (Score:2, Insightful)
I am usually very critical of GMO tech but even I have to say this is cool.
With great GMO tech, comes great responsibility.
Re:Cool (Score:1, Insightful)
Wait, you criticize the lack of caution, and complain about death-codes that would act as a fail-safe in case a modified plant started to infest an ecosystem?
Re:Cool (Score:3, Insightful)
Is that what the death codes are there for? I thought they were there so farmers have to keep buying seed from Monsanto even if they treble the price once self-perpetuating varieties have gone the way of the dodo.
Re:Cool (Score:2, Insightful)
They genetically altered a major food source (grain) without really knowing the long term consequences (the splicing and insertion of new genes basically occurs in random places of the target DNA).
Because they 'enhanced' it (made it resistant to the weedkiller they sell), they made it very attractive to cultivate.
This, combined with aggressive marketing lead to world-wide use of their altered grain varieties (which they control completely through patents).
The genetically altered grain cross-breads with non-altered grains, so eventually the whole world will have GE grain.
Now imagine that this altered grain turns out to be particulary vulnerable to some new strain of virus.
These things happen, but with sufficient genetic variety, only a small part of the crops are affected.
But since we basically created a grain monoculture, most of the crops will be lost. Sure there are some reserves, but not in sufficient quantities to prevent famine.
And it would take years to turn the limited amount of unaltered grain (which btw people would want to eat) in sufficient starter seed for the whole world.
That's why genetically modified food is a bad thing when controlled by mega corporations.
Re:Opening cocoons (Score:3, Insightful)
So, when silk worms finally do make silk as strong as spiders' silk, then will those silk moths be able to open their own cocoons?
That's a good thing. It's literally embedding a natural limiter for a genetic experiment. The stronger the silk, the less probable the organism will be able to escape and reproduce outside. If the thing does reproduce, I expect the offspring that will make it will be the ones with weaker silk, bringing balance to nature again. Unless, of course, stronger silk gives them an unknown reproductive advantage, which I really hope doesn't happen. (Crap, now I really got scared).
Re:Cool (Score:4, Insightful)
Getting your science info from a site called "purefood.org" (which links to a "study" funded by the Green Party) is generally a bad idea. The modified strain of K. Planticola (SDF20) was shown to be unsuitable because the byproducts could not be used in the manner intended, not because it was going to cause Global Disaster(tm). The claims made in that article go way beyond what the actual studies showed, and aren't supported by the data.
Scaremongering FUD != science.
Re:Cool (Score:3, Insightful)
Honestly, you sound like a paranoid, Luddite, conspiracy theorist.
Re:Cool (Score:3, Insightful)
If you think he's a naive moron you might try educating him, if you do in fact know what you're talking about.
Farmer A plants GM corn. Farmer B plants non-GM corn. Pollen from A's corn pollenates B's corn, which he uses part of as seed corn for the next season. B has now infringed Monsantos patent on the gene sequence of his crop. That's just evil on Monsanto's part.
Now explain to me (or give a link) why Monsanto couldn't have possibly unknowingly introduced a genetic weakness that makes it suceptable to some plant disease? He's not talking about introducing a virus that will affect humans or animals, he's talking about unintentionally introducing a genetic weakness that could affect future corn crops. His argument was logical, your "argument" was worthless and your analogy idiotic.
Re:Cool (Score:4, Insightful)
Yeah but were those studies Danish?
Re:Cool (Score:3, Insightful)
Canola is a brand name awarded to a Canadian company for their genetically modified rape seed.
You fail to mention that non-GM rape seed and its oil are poisonous.
By genetically modifying the rape seed, Canola substantially increased the world's food supply.
But GM is evil right?
Re:Cool (Score:2, Insightful)
Ceramic (or metal) plates are only used when you need to go up against rifle rounds. Standard vests that can protect against handguns typically consist of many layers of kevlar bonded together with resin to provide stiffness. (so it actually stops the bullet, rather than being dragged along with it into your body)
Re:Spider-Worm Spider-Worm... (Score:1, Insightful)
Does whatever a spider, erm...
FTFY.
It's a trivial line in the sand. (Score:1, Insightful)
Not much. Humans have been dinking around with DNA for a long time, but even because it has "natural" in the term doesn't make it a "good" thing. All natural snake venom will kill you just as sure as cyanide.