Chemists Crack Secrets of Mussels' Super Glue

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Chemists Crack Secrets of Mussels' Super Glue

Posted by Hemos on Monday January 12, 2004 @03:15AM from the your-secrets-revealed dept.

Roland Piquepaille writes "Researchers from Purdue University working under an award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) have discovered that common blue mussels are using iron found in seawater to create their own super glue. "In addition to using the knowledge to develop safer alternatives for surgical and household glues, the researchers are looking at how to combat the glue to prevent damage to shipping vessels and the accidental transport of invasive species, such as the zebra mussel that has ravaged the midwestern United States." This overview contains more details and references about this discovery. You'll also find an image of mussel glue at a magnification of 25,000X and one of a mussel adhering to a sheet of Teflon."

37 of 197 comments (clear)

Scary cleaning cycle.. by scsirob · 2004-01-12 03:17 · Score: 2, Funny

Next time they try cleaning those mussels off a large ship, the ship desintegrates too. Same glue, sorry...

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thank god by Joe+the+Lesser · 2004-01-12 03:17 · Score: 2, Funny

Get these things off of me!

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american pie 2 by lotas · 2004-01-12 03:17 · Score: 3, Funny

i wouldent want to get my hand stuck with that, anywhere, never mind there....

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Lotas T Smartman www.lotas-smartman.net
Kinda answers that question... by da3dAlus · 2004-01-12 03:18 · Score: 4, Funny

What sticks to Teflon?
Mussels!

Bah, there was a punchline in there somewhere, but I think I missed it.

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Sometimes I doubt your commitment to Sparkle Motion.
1. Re:Kinda answers that question... by Frymaster · 2004-01-12 03:28 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  What sticks to Teflon?
  er... the frying pan.
  
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  2 1337 4 u!
2. Re:Kinda answers that question... by cmpalmer · 2004-01-12 03:40 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  So, er... frying pans... are made of... mussels?
  
  --
  -- stream of did I lock the front door consciousness
3. Re:Kinda answers that question... by Anonymous Coward · 2004-01-12 03:53 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  Hence she's a witch! Burn her!
So the next time by Tebriel · 2004-01-12 03:18 · Score: 5, Funny

So, the next time a lamp breaks or something, I'll just go fetch a mussel and fix it with that. Cheap and easy! Just don't tell PETA.

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Teflon? by Anonymous Coward · 2004-01-12 03:19 · Score: 1, Funny

Since when was Teflon that leader of anti-stick materials? Put them on some salt, then we'll see who is better!

Blogzine
Muscle Glue by JRHelgeson · 2004-01-12 03:20 · Score: 2, Funny

I grew up with "Super Glue", does this mean that the next generation will grow up with "Muscle Glue"?
Will Muscle Glue remover cause the iron to oxidize and rust away thereby breaking apart the protein strands? Inquiring minds want to know.

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Hey! by twoslice · 2004-01-12 03:20 · Score: 5, Funny

and one of a mussel adhering to a sheet of Teflon.
That's my dinner!

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mussels yummy! by tuxette · 2004-01-12 03:20 · Score: 5, Funny

"Stick to your ribs" suddenly has a whole new meaning...

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"Super Glue" is misleading by krog · 2004-01-12 03:21 · Score: 4, Funny

When you say "super glue", most people here think of Superglue(tm), which is cyanoacrylate adhesive, not mollusk snot. Couldn't a different phrasing have been used?

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1. Re:"Super Glue" is misleading by Anonymous Coward · 2004-01-12 03:41 · Score: 2, Funny
  
  Mollusk snot. I like it. Let's call it that from now on.
2. Re:"Super Glue" is misleading by revscat · 2004-01-12 03:52 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  When you say "super glue", most people here think of Superglue(tm), which is cyanoacrylate adhesive, not mollusk snot.
  
  I think I might have found my new .sig.
DMCA by Anonymous Coward · 2004-01-12 03:23 · Score: 1, Funny

Isn't this a violation of nature's rights? Greenpeace should sue them based on DMCA!
More glues in the news by Anonymous Coward · 2004-01-12 03:28 · Score: 2, Funny

Glue in the News
Huffing? by metallikop · 2004-01-12 03:29 · Score: 2, Funny

But does anything happen when you huff muscle glue?
I thought the answer to that was... by Phekko · 2004-01-12 03:30 · Score: 3, Funny

...my cooking.

There must be different kinds of mussel glues, though, as some mussels really DO taste like glue...

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Overview? by FesterDaFelcher · 2004-01-12 03:52 · Score: 2, Funny

"This overview contains more details and references about this discovery."

Wouldnt an overview have less details? :)

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Re:Why ? by Guano_Jim · 2004-01-12 03:54 · Score: 4, Funny

Hey buddy, what you do with mongolian veld goats on your time is your business.

Combine some mussel superglue with some bioluminescent squid (ogg file) and you've got yourself a mean underwater flashlight, though.

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Prof Wilker - SCORE! by argStyopa · 2004-01-12 03:57 · Score: 4, Funny

Lessee, handsome young professor, with EIGHT grad students. All coincidentally female and good looking. What are the odds of THAT? Spend a lot of time in the lab, do ya, Doc?

http://www.nsf.gov/od/lpa/news/04/images/theteam .j pg

I'm going to let everyone ELSE make the jokes, thanks.

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-Styopa
1. Re:Prof Wilker - SCORE! by Anonymous Coward · 2004-01-12 04:04 · Score: 1, Funny
  
  "handsome young professor"?
  
  "female and good looking"?
  
  Are we looking at the same photo? What I saw there was the January issue of the Ugly Parade!
2. Re:Prof Wilker - SCORE! by Bigman · 2004-01-12 04:07 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  Just goes to show that chicks dig guys with mussels....
  
  *rim-shot*
  
  Oh well, I'm known for my awful puns, so I guess this just adds to my rep!
  
  --
  *--BigMan--- Time flies like an arrow.. but personally I prefer a nice glass of wine!
If only by Pragmatix · 2004-01-12 04:05 · Score: 3, Funny

If only we can figure out a way to sneak some of this stuff into Darl McBride's mouth.
NSFW? by ChilliNuts · 2004-01-12 04:20 · Score: 2, Funny

Did anyone else see the link in the overview page entitled "NSF page" and hope for some nudy mussel pics?

No? ... /shuffles back to fark
Wow by lone_marauder · 2004-01-12 04:25 · Score: 3, Funny

such as the zebra mussel that has ravaged the midwestern United States.

Those zebra mussels must be pretty badass to be growing in Nebraska cornfields.

(yes, I know zebra mussels are a problem for inland freshwater bodies. The joke is still funny. Thank you.)

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A sheet of Teflon? by sharkey · 2004-01-12 04:35 · Score: 4, Funny

Whoopdedoo. When they get a guy to stick a mussel on his hat and use it to hang from a steel girder high over the city, then I'll be impressed.

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3n 355 3ff by Deraj+DeZine · 2004-01-12 04:41 · Score: 2, Funny

NSF? You mean the National Secessionist Forces? I have a feeling that they didn't discover this for themselves, they probably just hijacked a shipment from UNATCO.

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True story.
Re:Great, now all we need ... by Boing · 2004-01-12 04:43 · Score: 2, Funny

What would be interesting is a genetically mutated mussel for ships which a) roams around sealing cracks, and b) kills all other non super-mussel mussels from the hull.

Oh, great. Some ship with one of these on it sinks, and suddenly the tectonic plate boundaries are sealed. Then what're we gonna do, huh?
Hmmm, on second thought, no more earthquakes or volcanos or tidal waves doesn't seem like such a bad thing...
Teflon? That's easy. Try the MS EULA by mnemotronic · 2004-01-12 04:57 · Score: 3, Funny

Teflon? No problem-o. Try getting anything to stick to the MS WinXP EULA.
... ahwell, dere goes me karma den.

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Re:Why ? by hamsterboy · 2004-01-12 05:03 · Score: 4, Funny

However this is known to some time now and nobody seems to care or even to use it. -- Proud owner of a Mensa membership card.
Did you buy this card from eBay, or does Mensa not have an English section on their entrance exams?
Hamster
Mr. Mensa, you need to learn to spell. by quasipunk+guy · 2004-01-12 05:42 · Score: 3, Funny

hampster versus hamster.

Oh shit, you're dumb!
Re:More permanence may not be best by red+floyd · 2004-01-12 06:00 · Score: 2, Funny

Kill all the geckos and mussels!

The geckos, anyways! I absolutely hate those bloody insurance commercials!

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Re:WGAR!?!? by dameon · 2004-01-12 06:34 · Score: 1, Funny

Here's a practical application

Step 1) Discover secret of Mussel Glue-like substance

Step 2) ????????????????/

Step 3) Profit

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Re:So... by damien_kane · 2004-01-12 07:04 · Score: 2, Funny

So remind me again why we are looking for some magic glue that will stick to our teeth? People have known for years that spinach will stick to your teeth, and most people try very hard to avoid that, as it's somewhat unsettling to many...
Teflon by wideBlueSkies · 2004-01-12 08:22 · Score: 2, Funny

I wonder if this study could also lead into the devlopment of a better Teflon.

wbs.

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