Clothes at the cutting edge

The Pentagon's efforts to keep its military forces one step ahead may also result in a high-tech fashion update for the rest of us, writes Mark McGuigan

Just as NASA gave the world athletic shoes, scratch-resistant lenses and the sports bra, the US military is retaliating with its own line of invisible clothes, bionic vision and bulletproof underwear. Behind closed doors and free from embedded journalists, the propeller heads of the Pentagon are busy researching the next generation of military fashion that they hope will one day advance US "diplomacy". And these aren't the khakis and military overcoats found in the wardrobes of today's hardworking Trinity arts student.

In what appears to be an effort to fuse predator with Prada, the US government is currently pursuing the material of a million childhood fantasies - a light-conducting fabric that would render the wearer virtually invisible. For decades, soldiers in the field have relied on primitive methods of concealment, typically the pattern of their battle-dress being matched to the environment in which they are deployed. But by providing a way for a soldier's battle-dress to conduct light and thereby change color, the effect would be one of constant invisibility in every field of operation.

This modern day twist on the emperor's new clothes is just one aspect of a research project being undertaken by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) as part of a $50-million contract granted by the US army. The result of this marriage of know-how and might is the newly created Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies (ISN) - a place where some of the best minds in the world tinker with military problems ranging in size from XS to XXXL.

The main item on the institute's agenda is the construction of a new "super soldier suit" made from "intelligent" fabric pre-woven with computer components, fibre optics and telecommunications technology. Imagine a Paul Costelloe suit with your cell phone, laptop, Global Positioning System and Ballygowan water supply already stitched into the lining. Now add a liberal dose of Matrix-style, bullet-stopping functionality and you'd be close to what the ISN envisions. However, the military version goes a few steps further. This suit will withstand a chemical/biological attack, automatically heal wounds, provide blast protection and turn sweat into potable water. In military parlance the new combat outfit will be an "ultra-lightweight, low bulk, multi-functional, full-spectrum protective combat ensemble". Couched in the words of the world we live in, it's the little black dress/black wool suit for the modern soldier - perfect for any occasion. James Bond squared.

Although you won't find this magic fabric in your laundry basket any time soon, certain elements of ISN research will begin to seep into other aspects of society in the not-too-distant future. The first areas likely to benefit will be the emergency services: firefighters, bomb disposal teams and toxic waste specialists can all expect the new technology to become part of their protective gear. With luck, the fantasy fabric may be extended to the cleaning crews responsible for clearing O'Connell Street after Saturday nights - a hazardous environment if ever there was one.

Of course, traipsing down a darkened street at night in a more literal war zone requires more than having to avoid fast-food wrappers, beer bottles and the detritus of a night on the town.

Soldiers need to be able to see real danger ahead of them, particularly in low light. In an attempt to eradicate the need for corrective lenses, and presumably the unsightly bulges caused by glasses cases in the super-sleek suit of the future, the US military is tweaking a design perfected by Mother Nature Herself - the human eye.

After a 20-year ban, the military has begun funding corrective eye surgery that embraces new Wavefront Refractive Technology, a science first used by astronomers to correct distortions in telescopic lenses. Wavefront technology maps aberrations by bouncing light into the eye and catching it as it comes out again. The resulting "wavefront map" provides ophthalmologists with a "fingerprint" of the eye, allowing them to customise a surgical procedure that can be programmed into a LASIK device.

Using this technique, ophthalmologists can provide visual acuity well beyond the 20/20 range, something akin to bionic sight and enhanced natural night-vision.

It's a move that might well spark renewed interest in LASIK, a procedure that has seen its popularity wane recently because of safety concerns. If everything goes to plan, and soldiers' eyes don't start falling out of their heads, the Irish bar scene might also be transformed. Bionic night sight would do away with the need for feigned excuses when the lights come up at closing time and that cutie you saw in the half-light turns out to be a clunker. (Note: the procedure does not claim to correct vision affected by beer-goggles).

And speaking of beasts, let's not forget a special herd of goats currently under surveillance by the US government. As anyone who has ever heard of Spider-Man probably knows, spider silk is five times stronger than steel and has the ability to stretch and flex like cotton on steroids. Its incredible tensile strength makes spider silk the Holy Grail of modern fibres (it's also great for getting around downtown when you're dressed in a red and blue Lycra bodysuit).

However, what most people don't know is that spiders can't be farmed, due largely to their cannibalistic tendencies. Attempts to gather together enough spiders for silk collection results in an arachnid free-for-all. Harvesting spider silk in quantities sufficient for use in the real world is an issue that has troubled scientists for years. But a Canadian company called Nexia Biotech has hit upon an ideal solution - genetically modified goats.

Essentially, a goat's genetic makeup is modified to include the spider-silk-protein gene. As this gene only affects the mammary gland, the goats look and act the same as any regular goat; however, the difference is in the milk they produce. It contains spider silk proteins that can be extracted and spun into fibres for industrial use. Its creators call the new product BioSteel. As well as providing a basis for bulletproof clothing, the future benefits of BioSteel are limitless. Envisioned products include suture thread for eye surgery, finer and stronger than any nylon used in hospitals today, an unbreakable fishing line that would eradicate stories of "the one that got away", rip-proof fabric, bombproof luggage - the list is endless.

With luck, all this cutting-edge techology can benefit society. Imagine a world full of students with fashion sense, murk-free pubs, invisible boxer-shorts, honest fishermen and clothes that say: "My Friend Went To Canada And All I Got Was This Lousy Bulletproof T-shirt". It's enough to bring a tear to the bionic eye.