New "Bullet-Proof" Skin Made From Spider-Silk
Soon Superman might not be the only one with the power to stop bullets!
Dutch scientists have developed a type of human skin made from goat's milk and extra strong spider-silk proteins can actually repel bullets. The skin showed superiority over normal human skin by stopping a bullet fired at a reduced speed, although it was not able to survive a shot from a .22 caliber rifle, which is the standard test for a bulletproof vest.
The skin was created by using genetically engineered goats that produce milk with proteins from spider silk. Researchers used the milk, in combination with human skin cells to grow the bullet-proof material, a process that takes five weeks.
It might sound like something out of a movie, and it's a long way from practical application, but it does give a sneak peek into a future where police officers or soldiers could use their actual skin to protect themselves from gunfire.
"Science-fiction? Maybe, but we can get a feeling of what this transhumanistic idea would be like by letting a bulletproof matrix of spidersilk merge with an in vitro human skin," said researcher Jalila Essaidi.
For now, the skin is on display at the National Natural History Museum Naturalis in Leiden, Netherlands, where it will stay until January 8, 2012.
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