As reported in the Times Online and on Reuters India, Japanese scientists have made it possible to wear socks made of spider silk. More accurately, the socks are 10% spider silk protein and 90% silkworm silk protein. The trick was to inject genes from a spider into silkworm moth caterpillars, whose silk could then be used to make the socks. This is exactly what geneticist Masao Nakagaki did, though it took him ten years to do it. He used DNA from the golden orbweb spider Nephila clavata, which is found in Asia and is related to our Golden Orbweaver, Nephila clavipes.

Nephila clavata. Photo courtesy Micha L. Reiser
(Creative Commons Licensed)

Spider silk is apparently better suited for clothing than any substance out there. It’s more durable than even kevlar, making it good for those of us who have a habit of shooting ourselves in the feet. But to make the socks, we need a lot of silk. We can pack silkworm caterpillars together industrial-fashion to draw the necessary amount of silk, but spiders don’t usually get along so well. We’d have one giant factory-room brawl. And being forced into slavery, spiders might just bite back. We’d rather have silkworm moths make spider silk. So voilá!

Now wait a minute here. Don’t we already have perfectly functioning socks? Yes, but most of our socks are made of artificial materials. Neither the manufacturing process nor the resulting socks are very good for the environment. Silk, however, is perfectly natural.

Dr. Nakagaki next plans to increase the fraction of spider silk protein to 50%, and he hopes to have spider-silk socks in stores by 2010. You know the jokes are coming. Users at drudge.com had some great ones… “Can you run across the ceiling in them?”… “Spider Silk Socks—buy seven get one free.”