This is bullet-proof human skin – made from spider silk and goat milk. Yes, really.

io9 ^ | 8/15/11 | Esther Inglis-Arkell

[LibWhacker]

This is bullet-proof human skin - made from spider silk and goat milk. Yes, really. Jalila Essaidi is testing the limits of human endurance, and it starts by having to milk spider-goats. Spider goats are otherwise innocent-looking goats that have been genetically engineered to produce milk packed with the protein made in spider's silk. (There is no definitive proof that this also gives them a propensity to skitter up walls or hide out in your sock drawer, but I think it does.)

Once the goats are milked, Essaidi spins the protein into fiber that is ten times stronger than steel, and mixes it with human skin.

Basically she's created a fiber matrix of the protein, laced liberally with human skin cells. The result is a composite of human skin that can actually stop bullets, as you can see in this picture below.

This is bullet-proof human skin - made from spider silk and goat milk. Yes, really. The project is called '2.6g 329m/s' after the weight and the velocity of a .22 calibre long rifle bullet. The ultimate goal of the project is to create bullet proof humans by replacing the keratin in our skin with spider's silk, making it much tougher. The current project, though, is a more modest endeavor. The outer and the inner layer of skin will grow around a matrix of spider's silk, making an overall composition that is bullet proof.

This is bullet-proof human skin - made from spider silk and goat milk. Yes, really. You can see the whole project (with narration in Dutch) in this video.

[truthfreedom]

And we need to be bulletproof why?

Terrible in all respects.

[SuziQ]

We saw a TV special on this a couple of years ago. It was fascinating!

[spetznaz]

I think skin stopping a .22 is a BIG step. I am not sure what the applications for this technology would be (special forces with certain ‘enhancements,’ fabric that is far lighter and more flexible than kevlar, ???), but the fact remains that melding this with more traditional armor technologies would produce a blended result that is far better than what is currently available. For instance, uniforms for soldiers where the entire uniform (all the way to boots and gloves) has a mid-level resistance to bullets and other projectiles, meaning that even at the most basic level (a soldier/Marine wearing only his uniform) there is some innate ballistic protection for soldiers. Meaning that for more enhanced protection the soldier/Marine would still have to wear higher-grade ballistic protection (to cater for the higher powered weapons that may be firing at him), but all the same having an entire uniform capable of stopping most handgun ammunition (as the technology is developed it will cover more than a .22, and with enough layers who knows what it may be capable of while remaining lighter and more flexible than kevlar). I think it is a good development. A seriously good development. In the private arena I am sure it is just a matter of time before I can buy a suit that looks exactly like the ones I have but can stop most bullets a civilian would encounter.

[exDemMom]

They do say, however, if you ever wondered what English sounds like to foreigners who cannot speak English. The closest language it sounds like is German.

That could be true. When I was an exchange student in France, my French family took me to visit Versailles. Some German tourists were nearby, and my family asked if they were speaking English.

To me, German sounds nothing like English.

[roamer_1]

Wow! She has a wicked English accent in the video. I could barely understand her.

That's cuz it ain't English... It's Dutch.

[mdmathis6]

“What could possibly go wrong?
Mixing spider, goat and human DNA? “

I don’t know but I think dating and human sexuality...at least for the male will get a lot more hazardous.(note the propensity in some spider species for the females to consume the males in the final throes of mating!)

[Daffynition]

Cuben fiber is stronger than kevlar.

Only reason I know that, is someone close to me built Steve Fossett’s massively huge 5143-square-foot Cuben Fibre mainsails for the PlayStation/Cheyenne in her round the world speed record.

[Daffynition]

Add a computer skin tattoo and you're good to go.

[mo]

Sounds like Muzzie -sponsored research...going for recycling their suicide bombers...

[absolootezer0]

ok, it stops the bullet from penetrating.. how does it hold up to the blunt force trauma?

[Jack Hydrazine]

The Rice With Human Genes
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-440302/The-rice-human-genes.html

US greenlights human/rice hybrid
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/03/06/rice_humans/

GM TRIALS TO FIND MEDICINE RAISE NEW ETHICAL FEARS; HUMAN GENE CROP FURY
http://userwww.sfsu.edu/~rone/GEessays/humangenesrice.htm

[wbarmy]

uniforms for soldiers where the entire uniform (all the way to boots and gloves) has a mid-level resistance to bullets and other projectiles

That line jumped out of me. A lot of damage these days in battle isn't the actual slug, but shrapnel and spalling. That kind of uniform would mitigate so many other common battlefield occurrences.