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DUSKY ARION (arion subfuscus) - Composition Friday
© Erik McGregor - [email protected] - 917-225-8963
Slimy Slugs
A team of scientists from Harvard University (Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering) have engineered a bio-glue from the defensive mucus secreted by Dusky Arion slug. The "bio-glue" is incredibly strong, moves with the body and crucially, sticks to wet surfaces. The incredible stickiness comes from the trinity of the attraction between the positively charged glue and negatively charged cells in the body; covalent bonds between atoms in the cell surface and the glue, and the way the glue physically penetrates tissue surfaces. Another crucial aspect of this glue is that it is able to absorb shock - it can take the physical stress and strain. So far it has proven its capabilities mechanically in the laboratory, in tests on rats and by sealing a hole in a pig's heart through tens of thousands of simulated heartbeats. (Source - BBC)
The world is full of natural gifts and evolutionary winners that humans can learn greatly from. This is exactly the kind of study that I would like to do - exploring the natural world to look for answers.
Check out Arion subfuscus #Duskyarion, a nice sized invasive slug, indigenous to Europe. This one was over two inches long. They have a pneumostome (breathing pore) on the right side for respiration, interesting asymmetry. #slugs #Arionsubfuscus #hudsonvalley
