Development of bioadhesives from marine mussels.

Mussels' sticky feet lead to applications.

J. Herbert Waite was a graduate student in biochemistry in the 1970s when he began to wonder how mussels cling to rocks in the turbulent intertidal zone, where they slurp nourishing plankton from the water. So in summers and fall, Waite donned Wellington boots and rubber gloves and headed for the Connecticut shore near Rocky Neck State Park to pluck bivalves from the water. Despite initial skep...

Microbeads in Sediment, Dreissenid Mussels, and Anurans in the Littoral Zone of the Upper St. Lawrence River, New York.

Global plastic production has exceeded 300 million tons per year (Plastics Europe, 2015). In the marine and freshwater environments, larger plastics abrade and photo-degrade resulting in persistent environmental microplastics that are not effectively removed by existing wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). The ecological effects of microplastics on the marine environment are poorly understood, ...

Microbeads in Sediment, Dreissenid Mussels, and Anurans in the Littoral Zone of the Upper St. Lawrence River, New York.

Global plastic production has exceeded 300 million tons per year (Plastics Europe, 2015). In the marine and freshwater environments, larger plastics abrade and photo-degrade resulting in persistent environmental microplastics that are not effectively removed by existing wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). The ecological effects of microplastics on the marine environment are poorly understood, ...

Natural Underwater Adhesives.

The general topic of this review is protein-based underwater adhesives produced by aquatic organisms. The focus is on mechanisms of interfacial adhesion to native surfaces and controlled underwater solidification of natural water-borne adhesives. Four genera that exemplify the broad range of function, general mechanistic features, and unique adaptations are discussed in detail: blue mussels, ac...

Trace metals in ribbed mussels from Arthur Kill, New York/New Jersey, USA.