Armed Forces News

Scientists at the Office of Naval Research and Michigan Technological University are working on a way to replicate the gluey substance that mussels use to adhere to vessels. If successful, the substance could prove useful in medical and non-medical applications. The research centers upon creating a substance comparable to the mussels’ “superglue,” which allows the creatures to stick to surfaces in wet or dry conditions. The mussels rely upon a special amino acid that gives them the special ability to stick. Researchers also hope that the substance they develop could be switched on and off, using electrical currents.