Some interesting news stories have come across my radar over the past few days, and I’d like to share them with you.
The first is regarding a project by the University of Wyoming in which spider DNA has been spliced with that of a female goat, in order to produce the type of spider silk called the “dragline” – which the arachnids use to form the outer perimeter of their webs, as it is the strongest of the six types of silk they produce. The purpose of this experiment was to be able to create this silk on a large scale, as spiders cannot be farmed (they tend to eat each other, and singling out this particular type of silk is difficult.) When the does give birth and begin producing milk, a portion of it is filtered to isolate the silk that is produced within, which turns to a solid as it is exposed to air. They are able to harvest about 4 meters of silk for every four drops of protein gathered. The silk is being used to create replacement tendons and ligaments for use in humans. There is even hope that they will be able to use it to create bone replacements. The professor leading the project stated that the goats showed no adverse effects from the experiments. They do have plans to splice the spider DNA into alfalfa plants in the future, as well. It will be interesting to see if this becomes a regular part of our medical options in the future!
Of course, I can’t help but think of Spider-Pig when reading this story:
The other story that captured my interest talks about how the web and social media are benefiting farmers and increasing their customer bases. The customers range from chefs looking for fresh, local, sustainably-produced foods to serve in their restaurants, to individuals looking for a heads-up on when the season’s first asparagus would be available at the local farmer’s market (that farmer had a line-up of hundreds of customers waiting prior to the market opening!) We’ve certainly looked at the benefit of having a means by which to communicate via the web regarding our farm. Although we don’t yet have anything for sale, the eggs and produce are coming soon, and the goat’s milk and honeybee products will follow next year. In addition to the website here, we are also on Twitter – so please feel free to add us there, if you also tweet! And if you are looking for a site of your own, please get in touch, as we do offer website services to other farms and related businesses.
I’ll be interested to see any news stories that arise from this week’s “Taking Root: Farm To Cafeteria” conference in Detroit. Farm To Cafeteria is an organization that works to get locally grown, nutritious foods into public facility cafeterias, such as schools, childcare facilities, colleges, and prisons. While many of these efforts involve community or facility-run gardens, there is certainly an opportunity for local farmers to help supply the growing demand for fresh, local, sustainable foods.
If you notice a news story related to farming, homesteading, or sustainable living that you think would be of interest to others here, please feel free to send it our way via our contact form, or Tweet us!
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