Silkworm Created with Spider’s Genes

A group of scientists from China and the U.S. has created a silkworm that can spin strong silk.

They achieved this by injecting spider's genes into the silk worms.

According to the researchers, the silk spun by the hybrid silkworm is five times stronger than steel and three times tougher than Kevlar.

The hybrid silkworm contains spider's silk protein which makes it more suitable for making bandages and bullet-proof vests.

"Silkworms are the current biological source of silk sutures, but spider silk fibres have superior mechanical properties that are ideal for procedures requiring finer sutures, such as ocular, neurological, and cosmetic surgeries." Professor Don Jarvis of the University of Wyoing was quoted as saying by the Mail Online.

Earlier, when they had found that the spider could give much stronger silk, the scientists implanted its silk genes into various living things like bacteria, tobacco plant and goats. However, they didn't get any good results.

The researchers found it quite difficult to conduct research on spiders because of their aggressive and cannibalistic behaviour. And at last, a positive result has come in the form of the hybrid silkworm.