Chapter 11: How Nature Sticks Things

The way that nature sticks things, internally and externally is fascinating. We learn more about geckos, cockroaches, frogs that invented tyre treads, spiders, mussels and their underwater adhesive. Although each example is fascinating, the idea that we want to make adhesives based on these principles seldom stands up to examination. Nature is brilliant at creating adhesives from the chemicals (not always nice and friendly) it has to hand, but there is a lot to be said for a cyanoacrylate, an epoxy or a PVA glue. They may not be natural, but they do an excellent, efficient job which makes them arguably greener than the rather poor-performing natural alternatives. One type of bio-adhesive is positively bad for us: biofilm. It gains its strength from its own internal wars, and sometimes only all-out war against it can remove it. When it comes to how our bodies are stuck together, there is a fascinating debate about whether it's mostly general principles or specific interactions. Whichever it is, we are held together by a delicate, fascinating balance of forces. What holds everything together is the unity of science. A few key principles take us all the way from a gecko to the most high-tech adhesive. That's the real story of this book.