Scaling New Heights: Gecko Lizards Inspire Manchester Scientists.
The University of Manchester's Centre of Mesoscience and Nanotechnology
Inspiration can be found in the strangest of places. A team of scientists from the University of Manchester looked towards the Gecko lizard and its amazing climbing abilities.
A group of scientists from the Centre of Mesoscience and Nanotechnology at Manchester University have created a material that pastiches the biotechnological design of the gravity-defying Gecko lizard. The material is covered with minute keratin hairs called setae which collectively act as a strong adhesive. This amazing scientific development could enable humans to move across uneven and slippery surfaces like the comic book super-hero, Spiderman.
The possibilities for this material are endless. Its application could enhance life as we know it, from everyday domestic use to medical and astronomical utility. It would enable astronauts to walk on the surface of spacecraft without cables, window cleaners, painters and roof repairers would not need ladders, vehicle tyres would have the ultimate grip on uneven surfaces in extreme weather conditions, and could enhance mountaineering and mountain rescue equipment. In the very least, changing light bulbs and putting the star on top of the Christmas tree would be easier tasks.
Such technologies are an inspiring example to scientists across the globe. Nature has been the muse for other scientific developments such as the adaptation of a strong yet light material inspired by the arachnid species.
The animal world could hold the secrets to more scientific discoveries.
Submitted by: Shelley Deasey, 06 December 2004
