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Windswept
On Pacific time
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Moderator's Pub
 
2006-07-26, 19:20

Okay, I thought it might be nice to have a place to discuss those news stories that don't deserve a whole thread all to themselves, but that are certainly worthy of a mention and maybe a word or two of conversation.

(Yes, I know that some of you hate it when a member is so bold as to designate an *official* thread for just about 'anything'; but I thought this 'minor news story' idea seemed worthwhile, and thought I'd give it a try.)

What inspired me were these two science stories from the BBC. I just thought the discoveries sounded kind of interesting and wanted to share them with anyone else who might think so too. So anyway, here goes:

First Story -

Quote:
Geckos inspire 'super-adhesive'

Just one metre square of a new super-sticky material inspired by gecko feet could suspend the weight of an average family car, say its inventors.

The plastic, known as Synthetic Gecko, has been developed by researchers at aerospace and defence firm BAE Systems.

Like the reptile's foot, the polymer is covered in millions of tiny mushroom-like hairs that provide grip.

Future applications could include an adhesive to repair aircraft, skin grafts or even a Spiderman-style suit.

"It would mean that your local window cleaner could dispense with his ladders and climb up the side of your house," says Dr Sajad Haq a principle research scientist at the company's Advanced Technology Centre in Filton, Bristol.

"There's a whole host of applications. It's just a question of your imagination."

Tiny forces

Synthetic Gecko is not the first material to draw inspiration from the cold-blooded creatures.

In 2003, a team from the University of Manchester created a sticky tape based on a Gecko's foot.

The invention followed the discovery by US scientists of how geckos perform their extraordinary climbing feats.

The University of California team showed that the adhesion was due to very weak intermolecular forces produced by the billions of hair-like structures, known as setae, on each gecko foot.

The so-called van der Waals forces occur between molecules with different electrical charge and cause them to be attracted to one another.

The cumulative attractive force of billions of setae allows geckos to scurry up walls and even hang upside down on polished glass.

The grip is only released when the animal peels its foot off the surface.

The material we have made so far will hold a family car to a roof, or an elephant if you wish
Dr Sajad Haq

The BAE team have created a material that mimics the gecko's setae. The adhesive is made of a polyamide, like Nylon, and is covered with millions of mushroom-shaped stalks.

Although the material has fantastic adhesive properties it does not feel "sticky".

"It's only when you press the material to the substrate that it actually sticks," says Dr Haq. "It's the molecular interaction that causes it to stick."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/5217240.stm

There must be so many applications in which this technology would be beneficial. I'd love to be able to walk up the side of my house to check out the roof tiles, for example. And cliff climbing might be something I'd be willing to give another try.

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Second story -

About frogs that died 10 million years ago!

Fossil Frogs Yield Soft Tissues

Quote:
The frogs and salamanders were found in a fossil-rich deposit dating back to the Miocene Epoch, the period of time that extends from about 5.3 to 23 million years ago.

Ms McNamara, and colleagues in the UK, Spain and US, say the bone marrow was preserved because the bones acted as a protective shell, preventing microbes from invading and breaking the soft tissue down.


T. rex fossil has 'soft tissues'

They believe many other examples of preserved bone marrow will be found, raising the possibility of investigating the proteins and DNA of prehistoric animals.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/5214798.stm


Just thought this was an interesting story. Maybe some of you will too.
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