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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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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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