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[IMG]http://www.deathandtaxesmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/skin_adp.jpg[/IMG]
Of all possible superhero abilities, bullet-proof skin is probably the last one I’d choose. I owe this mostly to my parents, who raised me in a bullet-free environment.
I would much prefer an invisibility cloak so I could hear people I know talking about what they think of me, or healing power so that I could make my way through life without fear.
The invisibility cloak is already a partial reality. Scientists in China (where else?) have built an extremely small one, “about the diameter of a red-blood cell.” As Science Daily explained, it was achieved by “bending light waves away from the bump that the objects makes, so that the cloak appears flat and smooth like a normal mirror.”
I don’t quite get it, but I’m glad to find that groups of scientists all over the world are working hard to make all our boyish fantasies a reality—not just the ones readily available on RedTube.
Bullet-proof skin, which I’m sure is first choice for many, is visible to the human eye. The material is made from goats milk and spider silk proteins, which are seemingly innocuous and thus totally badass.
According to Daily Mail, for the process “researchers genetically engineered goats to produce milk which is packed with the same protein as silk spiders. Once this is milked out it can be spun out and weaved into a material that is ten times stronger than steel.”
I’m not sure how milk can be spun and weaved, or how something that can be spun and weaved can be made into something ten times stronger than steel, but I trust they’re serious.
For the final step, they grow real human skin around the material. The idea is to someday replace keratin (the fibrous proteins naturally found in skin) with spider silk proteins. Whoever scientists try this on first will be a real-life Spider Man.
Unsurprisingly, this process has not yet been perfected. The material they’ve created is less bullet-proof than bullet-proof vests, which must be able to stop a bullet fired at a normal speed from a .22 caliber rifle. The skin only repels bullets shot at slower than normal speeds.
Researcher Jalila Essaidi makes it clear that the research is still in its early stages. As she told the Daily Mail, “Science-fiction? Maybe, but we can get a feeling of what this transhumanistic idea would be like by letting a bulletproof matrix of spidersilk merge with an in vitro human skin.”
We’re looking forward to see how this material unfolds.
[MEDIA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILgwy5c6W04&feature=player_embedded[/MEDIA]
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Source: [url]http://www.deathandtaxesmag.com/132986/today-in-transhumanism-bullet-proof-skin/[/url]
So basically a bullet proof vest laced into your skin? Jesus.
I never asked for this
[QUOTE=Sexy Eskimo;31815899]I never asked for this[/QUOTE]
I [I]totally[/I] asked for this.
the bullet may not penetrate the skin but it'd still be the equivalent of getting hit with a sledgehammer in a tiny area
still cool though. they just need to refine the process a bit more.
what's harder, genetically engineering bullet proof skin or making stronger bullets?
[QUOTE=Chilean;31815985]what's harder, genetically engineering bullet proof skin or making stronger bullets?[/QUOTE]
Making stronger bullets, but that all depends if the guy with genetical engineer skin hasn't already melted your face off with laser vision.
Stopping a bullet with only your skin seems like it would still give your internal organs a real pounding.
Wouldn't this be more effective inside a vest instead of in your skin?
I mean if it was inside a vest or something it can distribute the force more.
Sweet.
Transhumanism makes me uncomfortable.
[QUOTE=Cmx;31816066]Stopping a bullet with only your skin seems like it would still give your internal organs a real pounding.
Wouldn't this be more effective inside a vest instead of in your skin?
I mean if it was inside a vest or something it can distribute the force more.[/QUOTE]
depends on how well i can distribute the force along the web. it could be very effective if your entire body was covered and the force of the bullet was distributed pretty evenly throughout your body.
better than nothing. this'd be useful. put it into all bank workers, someone tries to rob the bank, "fuck you." criminals get none.
This is awesome.
Now I'm gonna save up for bulletproof skin implants. Being shot would still suck hardcore, could break bones underneath the skin.
It's funny because probably less than 1% of facepunch will actually get their hands on this technology.
[QUOTE=aznz888;31815963]the bullet may not penetrate the skin but it'd still be the equivalent of getting hit with a sledgehammer in a tiny area[/QUOTE]
that's pretty much what bulletproof vests are, you're alive but you're sure as hell going to get the wind knocked out of you
transhumanism sucks
This is just like Deus ex.
It's still gonna fucking hurt like a bitch when you get shot
Prepare for the worst bruise in history
I remember that one girl who put magnets in her fingers so she could sense magnetic fields.
I always think about that but pretty soon humans will be cyborgs basically. It seems impossible to think about it though.
:foxnews: Has science gone to far? More at 6. :foxnews:
they should really make it resistant to some sort of infection, like that amoeba shit that's happening.
-even though if we don't swim we're fine-
It'd seriously make it worth our time.
[editline]19th August 2011[/editline]
I mean think about it, won't this mean people will stop using bullets or just develop stronger ones, therefore leaving this without use?
[QUOTE=KingKombat;31816517]It's still gonna fucking hurt like a bitch when you get shot
Prepare for the worst bruise in history[/QUOTE]
Crushed bones.
One more step to nano suits. :science:
Who says you can't throw a vest over this? Double protection...
[QUOTE=KingKombat;31816517]It's still gonna fucking hurt like a bitch when you get shot
Prepare for the worst bruise in history[/QUOTE]
I would much rather be bruised than be dead you know.
Has anyone here read Artemis Fowl? This sorta happens to his bodyguard: His skin becomes infused with kevlar.
Surely the physical impact would still shatter your bones and fuck up your muscle.
[QUOTE=Irockz;31816207]better than nothing. this'd be useful. put it into all bank workers, someone tries to rob the bank, "fuck you." criminals get none.[/QUOTE]
Great plan. If you'll excuse me, I'm off to apply for a job as a bank teller, before quitting right after the surgery.