The muscle o’ mussels
Mussels
Here at The Why Files, we’re always glued to our computers, but it turns out that an even more powerful glue than cyberspace may be on the horizon. The Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) in conjunction with researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara are working on a glue with real muscle; or, more accurately, based on the glue which mussels use to stick themselves to rocks, ships, and piers.
Mussels produce “byssal threads” which they use to cling to surfaces. They create these threads by secreting proteins along with a catalyst that causes the proteins to rapidly harden.
At the outset, the scientists immediately encountered a problem when they realized that it would take 10,000 mussels to make one gram of the super glue. Not wanting to limit the availability of deep fried mollusks at seafood restaurants, the INEEL folks decided to use DNA technology to churn out large quantities of the mollusk made proteins.
The Department of Energy, INEEL’s parent agency, promises that this new glue will allow for stronger plywood, better dentures, improved surgical sutures and prosthetic technologies, and a better understanding of ways to prevent mussels from sticking to ships. Beyond the adhesive’s ability to withstand water, the world’s most ubiquitous solvent, researchers also note that the new glue will not require high temperatures to activate and it is, by definition, environmentally friendly.
Image courtesy of the The Department of Energy.
Tags: Biology
