Body Armor Made From Genetically Engineered Spider Silk

[humble3d]

Body Armor Made From Genetically Engineered Spider

Silk

Will this next-gen material help soldiers in the

future??

Kevlar has been the Army's go-to body armor for

decades, but a new technology might be challenging

that paradigm.

Kraig Biocraft, a bioengineering company based in

Michigan, has genetically altered silkworms to produce

spider silk. Today, they announced an Army contract to

develop this silk, called Dragon Silk, for use in body

armor.

Spider silk is one of the strongest natural fibers,

but it's difficult to produce in large amounts.

Spiders are territorial and cannibalistic, so it's

nearly impossible to create a cost-effective spider

farm.

To combat this problem, Kraig Biocraft inserted the

genes for making spider silk into silkworms. The

result was a composite silk that was as strong as

normal spider silk yet much easier to produce.

Dragon Silk has a number of applications, particularly

in surgery. Many sutures are done with biodegradable

silkworm silk, but the increased strength of Dragon

Silk allows for much thinner threads. This is useful

when performing surgery in sensitive areas, such as

the eyes and brain.

The Army's Soldier Protection and Individual Equipment

(PM-SPIE) office is giving Kraig Biocraft a $100,000

grant to test their Dragon Silk as a form of body

armor.

The company will produce a series of ballistic "shoot

packs" with different thread counts, thicknesses, and

construction techniques to see how the Dragon Silk

performs. If it meets expectations, the Army is

prepared to increase the grant to $1 million.

Dragon Silk's primary advantage over traditional

Kevlar is its flexibility. Kevlar is slightly more

durable than Dragon Silk, with a strength of 3

gigapascals (GPa) compared to Dragon Silk's strength

of 2 GPa.

However, Kevlar only has an elasticity of 3 percent,

meaning it's almost completely inflexible. Dragon Silk

has an elasticity of 30 to 40 percent, which offsets

the slightly reduced strength.

If Kraig Biocraft is successful, silkworm farms may

soon be spinning up the gear that keeps frontline

troops safe.

Source: Defense One
 

http://www.defenseone.com/technology/2016/07/army-
testing-genetically-engineered-spider-silk-body-
armor/129814/?oref=d-mostread

 

[RejZoR]

And someone will create a bullets made of genetically engineered turtle shells that can penetrate this. It's a never ending battle that has been going on since the time humans invented weapons.