BY MEGAN FAROKHMANESH

 

 

 

 

Man of steel? More like -- man of silk. If one Dutch researcher has her way -- Superman won’t be the only one reflecting bullets anymore. 

 

 

Take a pinch of spider silk, add a splash of goat’s milk and you have the basis for project 2.6g 329m/s -- named for weight and velocity of a .22 caliber long rifle bullet. This recipe might sound like a fairy tale concoction, but it’s no hocus pocus -- it’s how you make bulletproof skin.

 

 

So -- grab a few goats and let’s get started. io9 says,

 

 

“...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.”

 

 

Once the protein is separated from the goat’s milk, it’s spun into fiber and mixed with human skin cells. Geek.com says -- the material you get is tougher than it sounds

 

 

“Spider silk might not seem like much, but it’s the toughest of all the silks in existence. Its many times stronger than steel, and it’s the toughest natural protein fiber. With that much strength spider silk is capable of a great many things. And when woven together, it could even stop bullets.”

 

 

Bulletproof vests already exist -- so why the hubbub? According to Daily Mail, a Dutch researcher on the project wants to quote- “take it one step further,” and cut out the middle man. She says...

 

 

“...why bother with a vest: imagine replacing keratin, the protein responsible for the toughness of the human skin, with this spider silk protein. This is possible by adding the silk producing genes of a spider to the genome of a human: creating a bulletproof human.”

 

 

Has your mouth hit the floor yet? You’re not alone. HyperVocal says, 

 

 

“It’s a bit overwhelming to think we live in a world where the remote possibility of bulletproof human skin exists. That’s just insane.”

 

 

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