Watery Gecko Grip Could Lead to Stickier Tape
The reptiles can stick to wet surfaces that are water resistant, study says.
But less well understood is how these reptiles cling to wet surfaces, which are common in their rainy tropical habitats.
The answer, a new study reveals, is that a gecko's sticky toes enable the animal to walk across wet surfaces that don't get uniformly wet, like waxy leaves—but not on easily wettable surfaces, like glass.
This is "an interesting question that the field of gecko biology hasn't quite looked at before" now, said study leader Alyssa Stark, a biologist at the University of Akron in Ohio.
Why does it matter? Because figuring out a gecko's grip could help people make adhesives that will work in water, Stark said. (Also see "Gecko, Mussel Powers Combined in New Sticky Adhesive.")
Imagine, for instance,
