Scientists have combined the DNA from a goat and spider to create an animal which produces silk that is five times stronger than steel. The fiber, derived from the goats' milk, harnesses the huge strength of silk spun by spiders.

The breakthrough could be worth millions because the silkmilk fiber can be used to make body armor that is far tougher than normal bulletproof vests, while weighing little more than a cotton shirt.

The hybrid goats were created by the insertion of a single gene from an orb-weaving spider into a fertilized goat egg.

The amazing genetically-engineered goats are outwardly normal, but carry the gene responsible for production of a spider silk protein. Each goat is only 1/70,000th spider, but when fully grown the females produce a milk which can be treated to produce a fiber with spider-silk strength.

The animals are believed to be the first commercially-viable creatures made from the DNA of two species.

Nexia, the Canadian biotech company that produced the goats, hopes the fiber—dubbed Biosteel—could take a large chunk of the billion-dollar market in industrial fibers.

—Source: Sunday Telegraph.