Gecko Feet might hold the key to inventing a self-cleaning adhesive.

January 4, 2005 8:08 AM

Gecko Feet might hold the key to inventing a self-cleaning adhesive.The super-sticky feet of geckos allow them to adhere to almost any surface. But even though geckos never groom their feet, they don't lose their sticking power over time. Why? Turns out they're self-cleaning. . Scientists hope to be able to use this knowledge to create new, better kinds of dry tape and adhesives, like "duct tape that never loses its stick or bandages that come off without sticky residue or an 'ouch.'" Research info is here, along with some gecko pics.
posted by zarq (11 comments total)

I love the Cliff's Notes' version of the story that appears afterwards, "for broadcasters." Is that normal practice? Can people not even stand to read the few short paragraphs of the normal story before they decide to run it in their "this week in science" pieces?
posted by odinsdream at 8:23 AM on January 4, 2005

Smart PR execs blurb their stories into sound bites that fit into a nightly news format, such as the "Can a new laser treatment cure varicose veins? Story at 11" teasers you see between commercials during prime time. (I work in the industry, and do this constantly.)

If your story cannot be shortened effectively into a sound bite, most broadcast outlets won't bother considering it. The problem isn't only that they think their viewers have short attention spans -- newscasters get less than 22 minutes to report an entire day of news so time is tight. Also, producers have notoriously short attention spans themselves.

Print editors and readers aren't hampered by time constraints, just space. They usually have more leeway.
posted by zarq at 8:35 AM on January 4, 2005

Ah. Gecko Feet. Is there nothing they can't do?
This post could be construed as a follow-up to this post, which was in-turn a follow-up to this post.
posted by grabbingsand at 8:35 AM on January 4, 2005

Do they look like reptile overlord feet to you?
I think you'll find they do.
posted by NinjaPirate at 8:39 AM on January 4, 2005

grabbingsand: I totally missed those posts. Thank you!
posted by zarq at 8:41 AM on January 4, 2005

YAY!!!!

::just knew it was a matter of time before her cousins' sticky feet were noticed::
posted by kamylyon at 10:42 AM on January 4, 2005

Ah. Gecko Feet. Is there nothing they can't do?
Well, they don't save you as much money on car insurance as they claim...

/obvious
posted by wendell at 10:54 AM on January 4, 2005

Molecular Velcro, powered by van der Waals. Very cool. Now, hopefully we can take advantage of the "path" to create a useful product.
posted by FormlessOne at 11:23 AM on January 4, 2005

This stuff would be perfect for hanging stuff from the ceiling.
posted by Benny Andajetz at 2:27 PM on January 4, 2005

Ah. Gecko Feet. Is there nothing they can't do?

Bet this stuff wouldn't hold politicians to their promises.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 3:17 PM on January 4, 2005

Ah. Gecko Feet. Is there nothing they can't do?

Can they rid us of these little buggers? They're cute, but by God they're annoying!
posted by Pinback at 6:54 PM on January 4, 2005