Spiderman might still be the stuff of comic books, but spidermammals exist, and they are this week the stuff of science journals.
The reason? Spidermammals (of a sort) have been created to produce spider silk, a material that has long been the holy grail of biotechnology researchers. The silk, spun by common garden spiders, is a nanofiber one-tenth the width of a human hair -- but strong enough to stop a bee flying at 30 kph. It's so tough, it has been suggested that a pencil-thick strand would halt a Boeing 747 mid-flight. Stop a speeding bullet? No problem.
The properties of spider silk are extraordinary and its potential therefore vast. A ready supply would allow for revolutionary eye- and neurosurgery procedures, lightweight parachutes and seat belts, rust-free bumpers and paneling for cars, biodegradable fishing lines, artificial tendons and ligaments, and (the one that has military and police authorities drooling) soft body armor, five times stronger by weight than steel.