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GENET-news articles on GE silk

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2014-11-21 |

This Worm Is Genetically Engineered to Spin Spider Silk

Spider silk is one of the strongest substances on the planet, tougher than Kevlar, incredibly lightweight and sought after by many branches of the armed forces. The only problem — good luck domesticating spiders to produce it. But what if we could get silkworms to produce spider silk?

2014-02-12 |

Japan: First trial breeding of genetically modified silkworms to start

Fluorescent silk kimono could soon be the rage of the Japanese fashion world. Researchers from the government-affiliated National Institute of Agrobiological Sciences in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, announced they have produced green fluorescent silk by genetically modifying silkworms.

2013-06-25 |

Japan mutant silkworms with fluorescent silk

Silkworms in a Japanese lab are busy spinning silks that glow in the dark. But these silkworms, unlike others that have been fed rainbow-coloured dyes, don't need any dietary interventions to spin in colour: they've been genetically engineered to produce fluorescent skeins in shades of red, orange, and green.

2012-09-26 |

U.S. Department of Agriculture fines University of Wyoming USD8,571 for kid GE goat neglect

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has fined the University of Wyoming more than $8,500 for neglecting some genetically modified kid goats. The USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service says the young goats included two that were very thin and one that died of an intestinal parasite. The goats had been genetically engineered for research into producing fibers as strong as spider silk. The federal agency alleged two Animal Welfare Act violations.

2012-09-26 |

U.S. Department of Agriculture fines University of Wyoming USD8,571 for kid GE goat neglect

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has fined the University of Wyoming more than $8,500 for neglecting some genetically modified kid goats. The USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service says the young goats included two that were very thin and one that died of an intestinal parasite. The goats had been genetically engineered for research into producing fibers as strong as spider silk. The federal agency alleged two Animal Welfare Act violations.

2012-01-05 |

GE silkworms spin spider silk - A first

“Our hope was that by embedding spider-silk protein [gene] sequences within silkworm silk [gene] sequences, we could get those proteins to co-assemble ... into composite fibers, and that is what happened,” said study co-author Don Jarvis, a molecular biologist at the University of Wyoming in Laramie. [...] The fiber is being commercialized by textile manufacturer Kraig Biocraft. (Lewis, Jarvis, and co-author Malcolm Fraser sit on Kraig’s scientific board.) “We’re not looking at bulletproof vests,” Lewis said. “We’re looking at artificial limbs, tendons, parachutes, and landing lines on aircraft carriers—[situations] where we need elasticity and strength.”

2011-08-23 |

Dutch artist creates 'bulletproof' skin with GE spider silk

A small sample of human skin has been bio-engineered to include spider’s silk between its layers. The Netherlands Forensics Institute has test-fired low-speed rifle bullets at it, and shown that it halts them. This summer, a very unusual science project is on display at a museum in Leiden, southwest of Amsterdam. There’s a piece of human skin that’s been genetically combined to grow in conjunction with spider silk. This unique combination makes the skin bulletproof against a .22 caliber rifle - the standard for a Type 1 bulletproof vest.

2011-08-15 |

Genetically-engineered spider silk suggested for human gene therapy

Genetically engineered spider silk could help overcome a major barrier to the use of gene therapy in everyday medicine, according to a new study that reported development and successful initial laboratory tests of such a material. [...] The lack of good gene delivery systems is a main reason why there are no FDA-approved gene therapies, despite almost 1,500 clinical trials since 1989. The new study focused on one promising prospect, silk proteins, which are biocompatible and have been used in everyday medicine and medical research for decades.

2010-11-02 |

Transgenic worms make tough fibers

Researchers have been trying to make artificial spider silk for decades. Now a startup claims to have overcome one of the main challenges in synthesizing the lightweight, stronger-than-steel fibers. Kraig Biocraft Laboratories has made genetically modified silkworms that produce fibers incorporating spider-silk proteins. The resulting fibers are much stronger, more flexible, and finer than silk made by normal silkworms.

2010-10-01 |

Researchers: GE silkworms make artificial spider silk

Biologists have inserted spider genes into silkworms, allowing them to produce strong, elastic threads that may be used to make sutures and wound-healing bandages as well as bulletproof vests and lightweight fabrics, researchers said Wednesday. [...] ”It’s very difficult to get spiders to make a whole lot of silk. They usually don’t make very large quantities,” Fraser said at a news conference at Notre Dame. ”For the first time it’s possible to make spider silk commercially usable.”

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