Canon PowerShot SD700 IS
ƒ/2.8
5.8 mm
1/200
the Starfish and the Mussel
8 responses to “Mussel Muscle”
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Mussel: -I tell you gimme my pearl back! I know you have it somewhere in there!!!
Starfish: -See for yerself! You never trust me.
Mussel: – "Never trust a fallen star" they say.
Starfish: -Duh. Just don´t give me tickles! -
I was looking for some explanation (especially about the Mussel/Starfish GigiTalk ;° ) and found this two interestings things :
Single-molecule mechanics of mussel adhesion.
The glue proteins secreted by marine mussels bind strongly to virtually all inorganic and organic surfaces in aqueous environments in which most adhesives function poorly. Studies of these functionally unique proteins have revealed the presence of the unusual amino acid 3,4-dihydroxy-L-phenylalanine (dopa), which is formed by posttranslational modification of tyrosine. However, the detailed binding mechanisms of dopa remain unknown, and the chemical basis for mussels’ ability to adhere to both inorganic and organic surfaces has never been fully explained. Herein, we report a single-molecule study of the substrate and oxidation-dependent adhesive properties of dopa. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) measurements of a single dopa residue contacting a wet metal oxide surface reveal a surprisingly high strength yet fully reversible, noncovalent interaction. The magnitude of the bond dissociation energy as well as the inability to observe this interaction with tyrosine suggests that dopa is critical to adhesion and that the binding mechanism is not hydrogen bond formation. Oxidation of dopa, as occurs during curing of the secreted mussel glue, dramatically reduces the strength of the interaction to metal oxide but results in high strength irreversible covalent bond formation to an organic surface. A new picture of the interfacial adhesive role of dopa emerges from these studies, in which dopa exploits a remarkable combination of high strength and chemical multifunctionality to accomplish adhesion to substrates of widely varying composition from organic to metallic.
Source: Lee H, Scherer NF, Messersmith PB. Department of Biomedical Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL 60208, USA. Links Link2
And it remind me this "Self Modeling black starfish" robot :
What exactly did you do in this project?
We have demonstrated how a physical robot can create an "internal model" of itself, and then use that model to generate successful motor patterns for locomotion, before and after damage. Most current robotic systems plan their behavior using a built-in mathematical model whose from is provided externally by engineers. Some robots can adapt without a model, but require many physical trials. Our result shows that a machine can adapt without being given a model and without extensive trials, by gradually developing an internal model of itself.
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lol alieness 🙂
PhOtOnQuAnTiQuE – fascinating links, especially the self-modelling starfish…
another interesting fact about mussels – the Green Lipped variety contain high-grade Glycosaminoglycans (GAG), a naturally-occuring Glucosamin, which i am currently applying to my RSI-stricken thumb joint in the form of a commercially-available gel.
does this make me a bad person? *
incidentally, i spent the weekend – as i often do – close to Musselburgh, the oldest town in Scotland. formerly taken into the city of Edinburgh by "Victorian womenfolk" to sell outside pubs to inebriated revellers (for who else would eat such a disgusting thing, were it not steamed and served in white wine sauce?) – perhaps this area’s abundant shellfish and its trade could be diverted for 21st century purposes… ie brought – alive – into the city’s i-cafés and offices, and clamped upon the aching digits of the RSI-stricken keyboard operators…
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