Look what you'll be hanging your hammock with in 5 years time...

[mountainm]

Thought this may be of interest - Heard this on the radio last night
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-16399257

They've GM'd silkworms to spin spider silk so it can be farmed on a commercial basis. Stronger and lighter than steel, more environmentally friendly than toughened plastics.

M

 

[SimonM]

Not that new...I did a research project for my degree on GM Goats spinning silk.

Simon

 

[mountainm]

Not that new...I did a research project for my degree on GM Goats spinning silk.

Simon

I read about that at the time, if I recall it wasn't commercially viable -but given a whole industry is already set up to harvest silk from silk worms then this option is a lot easier to get off the ground.

 

[Harvestman]

So, let me get this right... you have an idea for hammocking that you want to get off the ground

 

[mountainm]

So, let me get this right... you have an idea for hammocking that you want to get off the ground

Taxi for Mr. Harvestman....

 

[Tengu]

If I know anything about spidersilk it will be terrifyingly expensive.

 

[mountainm]

If I know anything about spidersilk it will be terrifyingly expensive.

That really depends on the scale it can be mass produced - you have to breed the mutant silkworms, but the production infrastructure is already there.

 

[Harvestman]

Hmm, a spidersilk thread. We should make this a sticky




Ok, ok, I'm leaving now...

 

[mountainm]

Hmm, a spidersilk thread. We should make this a sticky




Ok, ok, I'm leaving now...

Oh, what a tangled web you weave....

 

[resnikov]

Why not cross bread the spiders with cows then we could have massive spiders thus creating more spider silk!

 

[mountainm]

Why not cross bread the spiders with cows then we could have massive spiders thus creating more spider silk!

That would be crazy - they'd build webs in the power pylons and we'd never get them down....

 

[spandit]

Why not cross bread the spiders with cows then we could have massive spiders thus creating more spider silk!

Or spider milk...

 

[R3XXY]

If they ever breed spiders as big as cows I'm leaving the planet !

 

[dave53]

lets not get all tangled up in this thread shall we regards dave

 

[Ivan...]

Some of the spiders we get on Dartmoor , are really hard , they lift sideboards and other furniture to get from beneath and gently lower said furniture behind them , they carry a huge backpack/bum bag about 65 litres and the yarn they spin is up to 550 paracord , so nothing new there !

 

[hobson]

I'm sure i remember a film called Eight Legged Freaks, with giant mutated spiders, it didn't turn out well for the town!

 

[Harvestman]

Sorry Mountainm, I seem to have killed your thread by being silly earlier. I was in that sort of a mood.

 

[mountainm]

Sorry Mountainm, I seem to have killed your thread by being silly earlier. I was in that sort of a mood.

Aye the death knell has truly sounded.

 

[The Cumbrian]

It's best that this thread is stopped before it grows legs.

 

[jackcbr]

been a while since i got my hammock out its already covered in spiders silk in the loft