Genetically Modified Silk Worms that Weave Spider Silk

                                                                           Definitions
 
Synthetic: Compunds made artifically by humans rather than by a process of nature.
 
Transgenic: An organism whose genome has been altered by the transfer of a gene from another organism

Transposon: a genetic element that can move from one site in a chromosome to another site in the same or a different chromosome and thus alter the genetic constitution of the organism

                                                                            Summary

A Spider Web

A mature silkworm is pictured just before it starts spinning its transgenic silk.

 

Lewis and Malcolm Fraser at the University of Notre Dame have announced that they have bred transgenic silkworms that they genetically modified to weave spider silk. Breeding these silkworms were done using a DNA transposon called “piggyBAC.” This transposon can insert itself into a cell’s genetic material. The researchers used snippets of spider DNA into silkworm embryos, resulting in silkworms that spin a hybridized part-silkworm, part-spider silk. To insure they had engineered a new silkworm, the researchers added fluorescent protein to the spider DNA. The mutant silkworms received glowing red eyes, and their silk turned out to be fluorescent green. Amount of silk is no issue for these silkworms whose cocoon contains more than a half-mile of silk thread. . Spider silk is a natural phenomenon which is much stronger than steel.  This silk has so many practical uses. These include artificial ligaments, super-strong wound dressings or even body armor as it is stronger than Kevlar. There could even be spider-silk replacement tendons, parachute cords and more. It could even be used to transport drugs. With such practical uses, spider silk will be an important resource in the future.

                                                                       Discussion
Spider silk is a strong, flexible, and durable material that can be used for many purposes. Now that we have found a way to make a lot of spider silk safely, we will soon be able to mass produce spider silk. With more silk, many new breakthroughs could be made using this material. Researchers have already envisioned artificial ligaments, strong wound dressing, body armor, spider silk replacement tendons and parachute chords, we already know many possibilities to use spider silk for. It can even be helpful in the medical area with transport in drugs. Body armor could be revolutionized and made super light with this spider silk that is 10x stronger than Kevlar. A hot field in the future could be uses of spider silk.
                                                                        Questions
1. Can spider silk be used for important applications apart from the ones I listed? Will it be the cloth of the future?

2. Can spider silk be used to make comfortable clothes? If so, then all people will be safe as they will have bulletproof material.

3. Is it possible to genetically modify other animals, apart from goats, to make spider silk? (Genetically modified goats can already do this with proteins in their milk)

                                                                           Citations
Article- Boyle, Rebecca. "How Modified Worms and Goats Can Mass-Produce Nature's Toughest
     Fiber." Popular Science. N.p., 6 Oct. 2010. Web. 15 Oct. 2010.
     <http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2010-10/
     fabrics-spider-silk-get-closer-reality>.

Definitions- "Synthetic, Transgenic." Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. N.p., n.d.
     Web. 15 Oct. 2010. <http://www.merriam-webster.com/>. 

Spider Web Picture-. Google Images. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2010. < http://www.vinnova.se/upload/ bilder/Resultat/Artiklar/spindelv%C3%A4v.jpg.bmp >.

Stanford Researchers Create a Low Powered Water Filter Made of Cotton and a Solution of Carbon Nanotubes and Silver Nanowires

Definitions:

Nanotube- A hollow cylindrical  molecule made of one element, usually carbon.


Circumvent- To go around


Biofouling- The impairment or degradation of underwater surfaces or equipment as a result of the growth of living organisms.

Silver Nanowires A microscope image shows the

silver nanowires in which the cotton cloth is dipped. 

Courtesy of Yi Cui, Stanford University

  

                                                        

                                                                                                    

Summary:

A Stanford Research team has found a simple, cheap, and efficient way to filter water using cotton dipped in a solution of carbon nanotubes and silver nanowires. They made this filter to solve a severe problem in the world today. Many developing countries and countries plagued with natural disasters often have very little to no clean water. Therefore, they use water filters, which often filter using tiny pores which the water flows through to get rid of bacteria . These filters have three problems; they are slow, often need  lots of electricity, which is a scarce resource in these countries, and are susceptible to biofouling, which in this case would be bacteria clogging the pores. The Stanford team’s filter circumvents most of these problems by simply letting the bacteria pass freely through the filter, zapping the bacteria with a lethal amount of volts.  The filter that was able to kill 98 percent of Escherichia coli bacteria in water with a minute 20 volts of electricity, much less than the electricity required in normal filter pumps. Carbon nanotubes were used because they are efficient conductors of electricity, and silver has bacteria-killing chemical properties. These Stanford researchers have achieved a miracle. They have created water filter that is cheap, efficient, and fast.

Discussion:
This water filter is practical for people in developing countries or countries plagued by natural disasters. It's materials, cotton, a negligible amount of silver, and carbon nanotubes, is quite cheap and practical for people living in these areas. This water filter is an amazing device which will hopefully soon supply water for people who are in dire need of fresh water.

Questions:

1) This water filter filters out bacteria, but does it also filter out debris and other sediments found in water?

2) How would people get a hold on the silver nanowires and carbon nanotubes?

3) How can this filter be improved so the 98% of bacteria killed becomes greater like a 100%?

Citations: 

Article: http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2010-08/cotton-filter-soaked-nanotech-cheaply-and-quickly-purifies-large-volumes-water

Picture of Water:  http://www.scholastic.com/safewater/images/rightColumn/clean_water.jpg 

Definitions: http://www.dictionary.com