By James GallagherHealth and
science reporter, BBC News website
28 July 2017
A defensive mucus secreted by
slugs has inspired a new kind of adhesive that could transform medicine, say
scientists.
The "bio-glue" is
incredibly strong, moves with the body and crucially, sticks to wet surfaces.
The team at Harvard University
have even used it to seal a hole in a pig's heart.
Experts have described the glue
as "really cool" and said there would be "absolutely huge
demand" for it.
Getting something to stick to a
damp surface has been a huge challenge - think what happens when you get a
plaster on your finger wet.
The university's Wyss Institute
for Biologically Inspired Engineering turned to the "Dusky Arion"
slug, which creates sticky mucus as a defence against predators.
"We engineered our material
to take on the key features of slug mucus and the result is really
positive," researcher Dr Jianyu Li said.
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