mussels
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Shellfish-inspired glue stays sticky underwater
Even the strongest human-made glue tends to fail when you dunk it underwater. Purdue researchers, however, think they have a simple solution to this: imitate nature. They've developed a polymer adhesive that's based on the proteins mussels use to cling to rocks. The team's synthetic creation takes advantage of compounds inside the proteins' amino acids to bind directly to an intended surface, rather than interacting with water on the surface. The result is a material that not only outperforms the glue you see in the hardware store, but is 17 times stronger than the shellfish's own adhesive -- and that has scientists scratching their heads.
Robot mussels help measure the effects of climate change
The mussels you see on the shoreline might not just be soaking up some rays... they could be key to studying climate change. An research team has published data from robotic mussels whose sensors have been collecting temperatures for the past 18 years in a bid to monitor climates around the world. By recording the body heat of the real mussels around them every 10 to 15 minutes, the artificial sea life can track and predict global warming in situations where it's most likely to have a pronounced effect. Mussels are highly dependent on air temperature and sunlight for warmth, so they're more reliable gauges of an ecosystem's health than many other techniques. If they're too hot, something is likely wrong.
