Spider silk yarn – the ultimate fashion spin-off

IT could be the last word in luxury – clothing spun from spider silk.

Scientists have learned to generate the gossamer threads from golden orb web spiders by growing them in genetically modified tobacco plants.

They can then purify and strengthen the silk from the plants and spin it into threads several yards long.

The new technique raises the prospect of being able to grow and collect spider silk from plants in much the same way as common textiles such as cotton.

It promises a new generation of lightweight but hardwearing clothes as spider silk can be up to five times stronger than steel, weight for weight.

Professor Bill Marcotte, of Clemson University in South Carolina who led the research, said it may be possible to produce clothing from it in a few years.

Although the technique is ‘not yet close’ to rivalling natural silks, he said: ‘We were able to pull fibres several metres long but we are currently limited as all fibres are pulled by hand.’

‘We are trying to develop a mechanism to semi-automate fibre pulling, but those efforts are underway.’