Since the time of the ancient Greeks, humans have been using spider silk to dress wounds. Scientists now know spider webs not only have healing qualities, they can be stronger than steel. University of Wyoming Molecular Biologist Randy Lewis adds an almost science fiction aspect to the study of spider silk: making large quantities of it by “growing it” in goat’s milk. With funding from the National Science Foundation, Lewis has cloned and sequenced genes for the proteins that make up five different spider silks, some stronger than Kevlar, others more elastic than nylon.
