By Anupum Pant
A new study published in Nature communications discusses about the make up of this slime a hag fish produces. This slime is probably used by them to make their bodies more slippery so the predators find it hard to grab on, also they sometimes block the predator’s gills.
But what looks like slime actually, the researchers say, is composed up of thousands of fine strands, each only 12 nanometres in thickness. Despite the delicate appearance, these strands are able to stretch by about 15 centimetres. They keep this biological thread tightly coiled up inside a gland and it never tangles inside. The stress that this amazing biological material can take is about 5 times more than that a normal steel can take.
more at [Nature Communications]