The current issue of The American Legion magazine has an interesting tidbit about how “an unusual protein found in the blood of llamas has enabled scientists to deveop a quick, simple method for making anibodies that could be used in a new generation of bio sensors that could help detect deliberate environmental contamination, such a bioterrorism.”
According to the article, researchers at the Naval Research Laboratory say that llamas are among certain animals that produce “heavy chain antibodies” from which “single-domain antibodies” can be isolated by genetic engineering. Camels and sharks also produce the same antibody but you seldom see either of those in a petting zoo, do you?
NRL researchers claim to have used single-domain antibodies to combat a smallpox virus surrogate, cholera toxin, along with other biothreats.
– Ward
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Sweet. Thats pretty cool stuff. I hear they can use some fiber from goat’s milk to spin fabric to make bullet proof stuff too.
Billy, I think you are talking about Casein plastic, a protein based organic plastic. It can be made from any milk, rather than goats milk, but given the chemical differences between goats and cows milk i suppose it may be possible to make stronger casein from goat milk than other species.
“Dirty bomb” usually means radioactive material dispersed with chemical explosives. Not much in the article that explains how it’s supposed to work.