Stronger than Steel: Spider Silk DNA and the Quest for Better Bulletproof Vests, Sutures, and Parachute Rope by Bridget Heos (review)

Prized for millennia for its superior strength and flexibility, silk holds promise for any number of innovations in contemporary culture. The problem is, of course, that the critters that produce the silk just can't keep up with the human demand for it. Enter Dr. Randy Lewis and like-minded researchers who see genetic engineering as a promising path toward increased silk production. Here readers look at three potential spider silk producers, all of which seem pretty unlikely at first glance. Injecting spider silk DNA into certain goats, alfalfa plants, and silkworms has resulted in modest initial success in spider silk production under laboratory conditions. Heo discusses the basics of how the introduced DNA targets cells in each organism to make the silk—produced within the goat's milk, grown from DNA-infected alfalfa leaves, or spun as spider silk from silkworms. This is fertile ground for debate over genetic modifications in general, and Heos doesn't shy away from some hard truths, including the fact that, under current law, male research goats that are not kept for breeding cannot be used for food (or even readily transported to other locations, in some cases) and are therefore destroyed. Clear focus, careful explanations with occasional repetition of denser information, and a wealth of color photographs make this title inviting and accessible; a glossary, index, and list of resources will assist report writers; and the kissin'-cute goats should entice quite a few readers to explore this project further.