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News Release 06-060

Waterproof Superglue May Be Strongest in Nature

Bacterial adhesive is 2-3 times stronger than common commercial glues

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Aquatic bacteria attach to a surface, and each other, by their glue-secreting holdfasts.

Two cells of the aquatic bacterium Caulobacter crescentus attach to a surface, and each other, by their glue-secreting holdfasts. The holdfast is the structure at the tip of the stalk, a thin extension of the cell. The two cells in the picture are about to divide.

Credit: Yves V. Brun, Indiana University


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