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All Articles Tagged As: adhesives
 | Insects can run up walls, hang from ceilings, and perform other amazing feats that have for centuries fascinated human observers. Now scientists from the Zoological Institute at the University of Kiel, in Germany, who have been studying these able acrobats, have borrowed some of the insects' tricks to make a dry tape that can be repeatedly peeled off without losing its adhesive properties. ...> Full Article |
The arrays of fine adhesive hairs on the foot pads of many insects, lizards and spiders give them the ability to climb almost any natural surface. A new study found that the different forces required to peel away these adhesive hairs from surfaces are what allows beetles to adhere to diverse surfaces, thereby reducing the risk of detachment. The study is published online in the Springer journal Naturwissenschaften -- The Nature of Science.
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 | Scientists can now manufacture a synthetic version of the self-healing sticky substance that mussels use to anchor themselves to rocks in pounding ocean surf and surging tidal basins. A patent is pending on the substance, whose potential applications include use as an adhesive or coating for underwater machinery or in biomedical settings as a surgical adhesive or bonding agent for implants. ...> Full Article |
Geckos have amazingly sticky feet. Their stickability comes from billions of dry microscopic hairs that coat the soles of their feet. However, when humidity increases, gecko feet stick even tighter to smooth surfaces, so how do they do it? Kellar Autumn and his colleagues have found that increased humidity softens the keratin that makes up the sticky foot-hairs, allowing them to deform and stick tighter to surfaces than hairs in dry conditions.
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 | Geckos are masters at sticking to surfaces of all kinds and easily unsticking themselves. Inspired by these lizards, a team of engineers has developed a reversible adhesion method for printing electronics on a variety of tricky surfaces such as clothes, plastic and leather. Designed by researchers from Northwestern University and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the stamp easily can pick up electronic devices from a silicon surface and print them on a curved surface. ...> Full Article |
 | A research team has uncovered the chemical components of the adhesive produced by oysters, providing information that could be useful for fisheries, boating and medicine.A better understanding of oysters' ability to stick together to form complex reefs would help those trying to boost the dwindling oyster population, aid in the creation of materials to keep boat hulls clean without harming the environment, and bring researchers one step closer to creating wet-setting adhesives. ...> Full Article |
 | The science behind gecko toes holds the answer to a dry adhesive that provides an ideal grip for robot feet. Stanford mechanical engineer Mark Cutkosky is using the new material, based on the structure of a gecko foot, to keep his robots climbing. ...> Full Article |
 | Researchers from Purdue University and the University of South Carolina have shown that oysters produce a unique adhesive material for affixing themselves to each other, a cement that differs from the glues used by other marine organisms. The researchers are presenting their findings at the 2010 Annual Meeting of the American Chemical Society in Boston, Mass. ...> Full Article |
 | Researchers at the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces believe they have uncovered the basis how marine mussels use the byssus, a bundle of tough and extensible fibers, to fasten securely to wave-swept rocky coastlines. According to their findings, local accumulation of iron-mediated cross-links creates hard knobs within an extensible matrix containing much fewer of these molecular bridges. Such a design could be an interesting concept for developing novel abrasion-resistant, highly extensible coatings. ...> Full Article |
 | Like silkworm moths, butterflies and spiders, caddisfly larvae spin silk, but they do so underwater instead on dry land. Now, University of Utah researchers have discovered why the fly's silk is sticky when wet and how that may make it valuable as an adhesive tape during surgery. ...> Full Article |
 | A sealant inspired by mussels' ability to stick to surfaces under wet conditions has shown promise in the repair of defects in human fetal membranes, according to a Northwestern University study. During a pregnancy, such defects -- ruptures or holes -- can lead to the leakage of amniotic fluid, resulting in premature labor or termination of the pregnancy. In tests, the Northwestern sealant was found to be biocompatible and effective at sealing the tiny holes. ...> Full Article |
 | With would-be goblins and ghosts set to drape those huge fake spider webs over doorways and trees for Halloween, scientists in Wyoming are reporting on a long-standing mystery about real spider webs: It is the secret of spider web glue. The findings are an advance toward a new generation of biobased adhesives and glues -- "green" glues that replace existing petroleum-based products for a range of uses. A report on the study is in the October issue of ACS' Biomacromolecules, a monthly journal. ...> Full Article |
 | The green mussel is known for being a notoriously invasive fouling species, but scientists have just discovered that it also has a very powerful form of adhesion in its foot, according to a recent article in the Journal of Biological Chemistry. The stickiness of the mussel's foot could possibly be copied to form new man-made adhesives. ...> Full Article |
 | Scientists have copied the natural glue secreted by a tiny sea creature called the sandcastle worm in an effort to develop a long-sought medical adhesive needed to repair bones shattered in battlefield injuries, car crashes and other accidents. They reported on the adhesive here today at the 238th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society. ...> Full Article |
Scientists discover trigger that deploys geckos' amazing grip
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 | When bees collect nectar, how do they hold onto the flower? Cambridge University scientists have shown that it is down to small cone-shaped cells on the petals that act like Velcro on the bees' feet. ...> Full Article |
 | Synthetic sea worm glue may mend shattered knee, face bones ...> Full Article |
 | Adhesive shellfish proteins bind regardless of how many binding elements they contain. This has potential for the development of new kinds of binding agents. ...> Full Article |
 | Successful construction of a gecko-inspired adhesive that is ten times stronger than a gecko, at about 100 newtons per square centimeter. ...> Full Article |
 | Researchers create first adhesive that cleans itself after each use without the need for water or chemicals, much like the remarkable hairs found on the gecko lizard's toes. ...> Full Article |
 | How did nature make the squid's beak super hard and sharp -- allowing it, without harm to its soft body -- to capture its prey? ...> Full Article |
Researchers and colleagues have created a waterproof adhesive bandage inspired by gecko lizards that may soon join sutures and staples as a basic operating room tool for patching up surgical wounds or internal injuries.
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 | New adhesive is first to mimic quick catch and rapid release traits of a gecko's foot ...> Full Article |
 | Velcro, Superglue and Post-It Notes... Three things that started out as obscure inventions but are now indispensable for everyday life. So what will the next idea to stick with modern society look like? The answer may lie in the tiny toes of a humble lizard, according to a University of Calgary biologist who is trying to figure out how geckos can cling to virtually any surface, including glass. ...> Full Article |
 | Mimicking a protein secreted by mussels that allows the mollusk to stick to, well, just about anything, scientists have developed a new material from a dopamine-like molecule that can serve as a versatile adhesive coating. ...> Full Article |
 | Physicists have found the formula for a Spiderman suit. Only recently has man come to understand how spiders and geckos effortlessly scuttle up walls and hang from ceilings but it was doubted that this natural form of adhesion would ever be strong enough to hold the weight of real life Peter Parkers. ...> Full Article |
 | Mimicking the agile gecko, with its uncanny ability to run up walls and across ceilings, has long been a goal of materials scientists. Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the University of Akron have taken one sticky step in the right direction, creating synthetic 'gecko tape' with four times the sticking power of the real thing. ...> Full Article |
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