Spider Web Replicated?

Bullet proof dresses. Cool.

A Japanese company named Spiber, Inc. has created what they are calling artificial spider thread, claiming it is as strong as steel and as flexible as rubber.

Creating synthetic spider silk has long been a goal of the biomimicry crowd. Stronger than steel and at the same weight as nylon but with twice the strength, experts believe that if stranded spider thread were as thick as a pencil, it would be strong enough to stop a jumbo jet in flight.

Many companies have failed in the quest to synthesize spider thread. Spiber's technique is to use bacteria with recombinant DNA to produce the long and complex molecular structure of spider-silk and then isolate those proteins into a fine powder, which can then be extruded through a hollowed-out needle tip to form thread.

I'm thinking that this might be a way to make a space elevator or perhaps some snazzy bullet proof evening wear.