Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

I am interested in the synthetic production of spider silk. First is this a feasible project for a high school student working in a lab with a mentor or alone?
It seems to me from my preliminary research that there are 2 basic ways to synthesize spider silk.

1 Sequence the genes responsible for the protein production and other genes responsible for the production and creation of spider silk. Then splice these genes into another organism and start a silk farm (spiders go cannibalistic in spider silk farms). (The same basic idea behind the production of insulin by bacteria.)

2 Find the composition of spider silk and analyze the spinneret and actual production process done by spiders. Create a "chemical recipe" for spider silk and go into production.

I am more interested in the second way. This is a very difficult project in which I will need a lab and a mentor. I live in the LA area. I heard a lot about UC Riverside but they are going with the first option and it is kind of far to do regular research at. I was wondering if anyone knew of labs in the LA area that are trying to synthesize spider silk where a high school student could work at.

Thank you for your help.

epwaotl,

I am glad to see that you are using the Ask an Expert Forums as you get started on your project. Before I answer the specific questions that you posted in this topic, I would like to point out that it is best if you keep all of your posts relating to your science fair project on one topic thread. This helps us Experts to be better able to follow what you have done, are currently doing, and are planning to do, which in turn makes it easier for us to help you.

As I look at this post and the other posts that you made, it seems to me like you are working to find a topic for your science fair project. I get the sense that as you come up with ideas, you are starting to do background research related to them, and that is incredibly important in coming up with a good project. It also sounds to me like you are quite interested in repeating the success you had last year at CSSF.

With the two project ideas that you have posted about, the Experts responding to those posts said that doing what you were planning to would be very difficult and suggested simplifying some aspect of that project. These Experts are not trying to squash your ideas, but they are letting you know that what you are planning to do will be difficult. Doing either of those projects would be possible, but it would take extensive background knowledge, a lot of dedication and passion, and an immense amount of hard work. The same will be true for the spider silk project that you proposed. It would probably be possible to do, but it will take a lot of hard work and effort. Hard work and effort, however, are two of the most important things when it comes to doing a winning science fair project.

Now to your specific question: I am not personally aware of any labs in the LA area who are working with synthetic spider silk. I would suggest that you go to the websites of the colleges and universities in the LA area and look at the homepages for faculty members. These pages will usually list the research interests of the faculty members. Doing so, you can find out who is working on a related area of science. Once you have found someone, the best thing to do is to email or call the person. You need to show him or her that you are serious about this and have put a lot of effort and time into preparing a research plan. I would recommend writing a research plan with a question, hypothesis, review of literature, and materials and procedures (to the extent that you know them). Having a plan will help you make a good impression on potential mentors and increase the likelihood that one will be willing to work with you.

Let me know if we Experts can be of additional help. Good luck!