Glue

The utility of the humble mussel in the world of medicine has expanded once again. This time, researchers figured out how to use a mussel-based glue to hold stem cells in place long enough to repair cartilage inside a rabbit's body.

Back in 2015, we heard about an electrically activated glue that could be used to bond items in wet conditions, or even underwater. Now, scientists have demonstrated that the material could be used to patch leaky blood vessels … from the inside.

While it's good that there are plastics which biodegrade, the glue used to join pieces of those or other materials together isn't as eco-friendly. Scientists have set about addressing that problem, however, by developing a biodegradable adhesive.

Disassembling electronics into their various components for recycling is a laborious process, and involves the use of eco-unfriendly solvents. Now, however, scientists have developed a magnetically-deactivated glue that could address these problems.

​​Advanced surgical glues that seal wounds faster could mean big things when it comes to medical care. A new material is showing particular promise in this regard, with the ability to be squirted directly into a wound, seal it in 60 seconds and dissolve thereafter. ​

Researchers have replicated the adhesive secreted by sandcastle worms to form a new kind of underwater glue. Its creators say the substance could find use in a number of applications, including tissue repair and dentistry.

A team of Korean scientists have developed a new surgical glue inspired by mussels, claimed to be cheaper, more reliable and incur less scarring than existing solutions.

If you place pretty much any type of solid material in the ocean, barnacles can firmly attach themselves to it. So, what do barnacles know that we don't? Scientists have recently discovered the answer, and it could lead to advances in human technologies.

Researchers from the University of Akron have recently created their own version of the "attachment discs" that spiders use to secure their silk fibers to surfaces, when building webs. These man-made discs could conceivably prove superior to conventional glues as a form of adhesive.

Researchers have discovered that wood adhesives with added zeolites can actually help clean the air of formaldehyde fumes.

A high-tech superglue called Kryptonite speeds the recovery of heart patients after open chest surgery, shortening the current recovery time of eight weeks by 50 per cent.

Tofu ingredient used to create formaldehyde-free plywood glue.