Ever since the conception of animal herding thousands of years ago, humans have manipulated different species of animals to make the perfect breed. Today, scientists continue to modify species of animals and plants but do it in a different way; scientists use genetic engineering to alter the DNA of the target organisms. One recent genetically modified organism that was developed is a goat that makes silk instead of milk. Spider silk is used to do many useful things, but spiders do not provide very much silk. Goats solved this supply problem.
	Goat silk started being designed over a decade ago, and today continues to be studied and produced. Located in Canada, Nexia Biotechnologies has been the company behind this interesting venture. Jeffrey Turner is the geneticist who designed and developed the production of goat silk. He founded Nexia with two million dollars and eventually got the United States Army interested in the idea because of the possible uses this silk would have. Called BioSteel®, the first successful production of the man made silk was on January 10th 2002. Biosteel is still in production and is being perfected and developed by Nexia and the United States Army. Herds of the special goats producing the spider silk can be found in Plattsburg, New York and in Canada. Nexia Biotechnologies holds all of the patents on goat silk and the means of producing it. The man made silk is not being widely used by the public or Army yet but plans for its uses are numerous.
	The idea of making synthetic man made spider silk is not original to Nexia Biotechnologies or Jeffrey Turner. The Idea has been thought of and attempted previously because of its amazing properties. Jeffrey Turner is the first man to successfully make synthetic spider silk. Jeffrey Turner developed it in hopes that it would become a widely used material by many different kinds of industries. The biggest market might be in the United States army which would probably desire it to make Kevlar armor easier to produce and cheaper. 
	Before developing the spider silk in goats, Jeffrey Turner practice the technique he would use on mouse embryos and mice.


http://www.nexiabiotech.com/pdf/nexianp.pdf

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2002-01/nbi-nau011102.php