TEDxPurdueU
Jonathan Wilker: What sticky sea creatures can teach us about making glue
Filmed:
Readability: 3.3
347,094 views
What if we could harness the sticking powers of sea creatures like mussels, oysters and barnacles, which refuse to budge even on wet, stormy coastlines? Dive into the wonderful world of animals that make their own glue and cement with scientist Jonathan Wilker -- and preview some of the amazing things we can learn from how they do it.
Jonathan Wilker - Scientist, engineer
Jonathan Wilker explores the science and engineering happening within our oceans. He works to understand the ways that sea creatures survive and how we can adapt their technologies to create new materials. Full bio
Jonathan Wilker explores the science and engineering happening within our oceans. He works to understand the ways that sea creatures survive and how we can adapt their technologies to create new materials. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:13
So I'd like you to join me
on a field trip,
on a field trip,
0
1306
2825
00:16
and I want to go to the beach,
and take you all to the beach
and take you all to the beach
1
4155
2810
00:18
and so enjoy the sea air
and the salt spray.
and the salt spray.
2
6989
2079
00:21
And let's go down to the water's edge,
3
9092
1985
00:23
and you're going to notice is
we're getting knocked around by the waves,
we're getting knocked around by the waves,
4
11101
3341
00:26
and it's really difficult
to stay in place.
to stay in place.
5
14466
2023
00:28
But now, look down,
6
16513
2159
00:30
and what you're going to see
7
18696
1421
00:32
is that the rocks are covered
by all sorts of sea creatures
by all sorts of sea creatures
8
20141
3032
00:35
that are just staying
there in place, no problem.
there in place, no problem.
9
23197
2664
00:37
And it turns out
that if you want to survive
that if you want to survive
10
25885
2121
00:40
in this really demanding environment,
11
28030
1763
00:41
your very existence is dependent
upon your ability to make glue, actually.
upon your ability to make glue, actually.
12
29817
4761
00:46
So let me introduce you
to some of the heroes of our story,
to some of the heroes of our story,
13
34602
3421
00:50
just a few of them.
14
38047
1151
00:51
So these are mussels,
15
39222
1452
00:52
and you'll notice
they're covering the rocks.
they're covering the rocks.
16
40698
2341
00:55
They've made adhesives,
17
43063
1905
00:56
and they're sticking down on the rocks,
18
44992
1966
00:58
and they're also sticking
to each other, actually.
to each other, actually.
19
46982
2335
01:01
So they're hunkered down
together as a group.
together as a group.
20
49341
2193
01:03
This is a close-up photograph
of an oyster reef,
of an oyster reef,
21
51558
2627
01:06
and oysters, they're amazing.
22
54209
2408
01:08
What they do is they cement to each other,
23
56641
3048
01:11
and they build these huge,
extensive reef systems.
extensive reef systems.
24
59713
2651
01:14
They can be kilometers long,
they can be meters deep,
they can be meters deep,
25
62388
2780
01:17
and arguably, they're the most
dominant influence
dominant influence
26
65192
3381
01:20
on how healthy any coastal
marine ecosystem is going to be,
marine ecosystem is going to be,
27
68597
3040
01:23
because what they do
is they're filtering the water constantly,
is they're filtering the water constantly,
28
71661
3000
01:26
they're holding sand and dirt in place.
29
74685
1897
01:28
Actually, other species live
inside of these reefs.
inside of these reefs.
30
76606
2953
01:31
And then, if you think about
what happens when a storm comes in,
what happens when a storm comes in,
31
79583
3055
01:34
if the storm surge
first has to hit miles of these reefs,
first has to hit miles of these reefs,
32
82662
4176
01:38
the coast behind it
is going to be protected.
is going to be protected.
33
86862
2102
01:40
So they're really quite influential.
34
88988
2477
01:43
If you've been to any rocky beach
pretty much anywhere in the world,
pretty much anywhere in the world,
35
91870
3207
01:47
you're probably familiar
with what barnacles look like.
with what barnacles look like.
36
95101
2655
01:49
What these animals do --
37
97780
1151
01:50
and there's many others,
these are just three of them --
these are just three of them --
38
98955
2722
01:53
is they make adhesives,
39
101701
1150
01:54
they stick to each other,
they stick to the rocks
they stick to the rocks
40
102875
2389
01:57
and they build communities,
and by doing this,
and by doing this,
41
105288
2144
01:59
there's a lot of survival
advantages they get.
advantages they get.
42
107456
2223
02:01
So one of them is that just any individual
is subjected to less of the turbulence
is subjected to less of the turbulence
43
109703
5667
02:07
and all the damaging features
that can happen from that environment.
that can happen from that environment.
44
115394
3818
02:11
So they're all hunkered down there.
45
119236
1668
02:12
Then, also, there's a safety
in numbers thing,
in numbers thing,
46
120928
2866
02:15
because it also helps you
keep away the predators,
keep away the predators,
47
123818
3628
02:19
because if, say, a seagull
wants to pick you up and eat you,
wants to pick you up and eat you,
48
127470
2814
02:22
it's more difficult for the seagull
if they're all stuck together.
if they're all stuck together.
49
130308
3126
02:25
And then another thing is it also helps
with reproductive efficiency.
with reproductive efficiency.
50
133458
3302
02:28
So you can imagine
that when Mr. and Mrs. Barnacle decide,
that when Mr. and Mrs. Barnacle decide,
51
136784
3146
02:31
"OK, it's time to have
little baby barnacles" --
little baby barnacles" --
52
139954
2386
02:34
I won't tell you
how they do that just yet --
how they do that just yet --
53
142364
2097
02:36
but when they decide it's time to do that,
54
144485
2885
02:39
it's a lot easier and their reproductive
efficiency is higher
efficiency is higher
55
147394
2904
02:42
if they're all living close together.
56
150322
2402
02:44
So we want to understand
how they do this, how do they stick,
how they do this, how do they stick,
57
152748
4955
02:49
and I can't really tell you
all the details,
all the details,
58
157727
2088
02:51
because it's something
we're still trying to figure out,
we're still trying to figure out,
59
159839
2621
02:54
but let me give you a little flavor
60
162484
1744
02:56
of some of the things
that we're trying to do.
that we're trying to do.
61
164252
2233
02:58
This is a picture of one of the aquarium
systems we have in our lab,
systems we have in our lab,
62
166509
3476
03:02
and everything in the image
is part of the system,
is part of the system,
63
170009
3493
03:05
and so what we do is we keep --
64
173526
1695
03:07
and you can see in the glass tank there
in the bottom, there's a bunch of mussels,
in the bottom, there's a bunch of mussels,
65
175245
3858
03:11
we have the water chilled,
we have the lights cycled,
we have the lights cycled,
66
179127
2509
03:13
we actually have turbulence in the system
67
181660
1954
03:15
because the animals make
more adhesives for us
more adhesives for us
68
183638
2205
03:17
when the water is turbulent.
69
185867
1373
03:19
So we induce them to make the adhesive,
we collect it, we study it.
we collect it, we study it.
70
187264
3421
03:22
They're here in Indiana.
71
190709
2159
03:24
As far as they know,
they're in Maine in February,
they're in Maine in February,
72
192892
2571
03:27
and they seem to be pretty happy,
as far as we can tell.
as far as we can tell.
73
195487
2686
03:30
And then we also work with oysters,
74
198796
2001
03:32
and up top, it's a photo
of a small reef in South Carolina,
of a small reef in South Carolina,
75
200821
4659
03:37
and what we're most interested in
is seeing how they attach to each other,
is seeing how they attach to each other,
76
205504
3501
03:41
how they connect.
77
209029
1151
03:42
And so what you can see
in the bottom image
in the bottom image
78
210204
2103
03:44
is there's two oysters
that are cementing to each other.
that are cementing to each other.
79
212331
2634
03:46
And we want to know what's in between,
80
214989
1811
03:48
and so a lot of times,
we'll cut them and look down,
we'll cut them and look down,
81
216824
2528
03:51
and in the next series
of images we have here,
of images we have here,
82
219376
2269
03:53
you can see, on the bottom,
we'll have two shells,
we'll have two shells,
83
221669
2620
03:56
the shell of one animal
and the shell of another animal,
and the shell of another animal,
84
224313
2635
03:58
and the cement's in between.
85
226972
1404
04:00
And if you look at the image on the right,
86
228400
2039
04:02
what you can maybe see
87
230463
1151
04:03
is that there's structure
in the shell of each animal,
in the shell of each animal,
88
231638
3476
04:07
but then, the cement
actually looks different.
actually looks different.
89
235138
2182
04:09
And so we're using all sorts
of fancy biology and chemistry tools
of fancy biology and chemistry tools
90
237344
3635
04:13
to understand what's going on in there,
91
241003
1991
04:15
and what we're finding
is the structures are different
is the structures are different
92
243018
2529
04:17
and the chemistry is actually different,
and it's quite interesting.
and it's quite interesting.
93
245571
3661
04:22
And then this picture --
94
250764
1372
04:24
I guess let me step back
before I tell you what this is.
before I tell you what this is.
95
252160
2985
04:27
So do you know the cartoon
"The Magic School Bus"?
"The Magic School Bus"?
96
255169
5060
04:32
Or if you're a little bit older,
"Fantastic Voyage," right?
"Fantastic Voyage," right?
97
260253
3325
04:35
And you remember,
they had these characters
they had these characters
98
263602
2136
04:37
that they would shrink down
to these microscopic levels,
to these microscopic levels,
99
265762
2730
04:40
and then they would sort of swirl in
100
268516
1754
04:42
and swim around and fly around
all these biological structures?
all these biological structures?
101
270294
3024
04:45
I think of this as like that,
except for it's real, in this case.
except for it's real, in this case.
102
273342
3774
04:49
And so what we did is we have
two oysters that are stuck together,
two oysters that are stuck together,
103
277140
4785
04:53
and this area used to be
completely filled in with the cement,
completely filled in with the cement,
104
281949
3182
04:57
and what we're finding is that the cement
has lots of different components in there,
has lots of different components in there,
105
285155
3954
05:01
but broadly speaking,
there are hard, non-sticky parts
there are hard, non-sticky parts
106
289133
3023
05:04
and there are soft, sticky parts,
107
292180
1573
05:05
and what we did is we removed
the non-sticky parts selectively
the non-sticky parts selectively
108
293777
3228
05:09
to see what's left for what's actually
attaching the animals,
attaching the animals,
109
297029
3910
05:12
and what we got is this, and we can see
there's this sticky adhesive
there's this sticky adhesive
110
300963
3449
05:16
that's holding them together.
111
304436
1407
05:17
And I just think it's a really cool image,
112
305867
2021
05:19
because you can imagine yourself flying in
and going back there.
and going back there.
113
307912
3062
05:22
Anyways, those are some of the things
we're doing to understand
we're doing to understand
114
310998
3065
05:26
how marine biology
is making these materials.
is making these materials.
115
314087
2563
05:28
And from a fundamental perspective,
it's really exciting to learn.
it's really exciting to learn.
116
316674
3352
05:32
But what we do want
to do with this information?
to do with this information?
117
320050
2476
05:34
Well, there's a lot
of technological applications
of technological applications
118
322550
2309
05:36
if we can harness
what the animals are doing.
what the animals are doing.
119
324883
2563
05:39
So let me give you one example.
120
327470
1619
05:41
So imagine you're at home
121
329113
2080
05:43
and you break your favorite figurine
or a mug or something like that?
or a mug or something like that?
122
331217
3722
05:46
You want to put it back together.
123
334963
1712
05:48
So where do you go?
124
336699
1221
05:49
You go to my favorite place in town,
125
337944
2205
05:52
which is the glue aisle
of the hardware store.
of the hardware store.
126
340173
2848
05:55
I know where you spend your nights,
127
343045
2080
05:57
because you're all hip,
cool people, because you're here,
cool people, because you're here,
128
345149
2745
05:59
and you're going to the bars
and concerts --
and concerts --
129
347918
2134
06:02
this is where I hang out every night.
130
350076
1762
06:03
So anyways, so what I want you to do
131
351862
1740
06:05
is get one of every adhesive
that's on the shelf,
that's on the shelf,
132
353626
2977
06:08
bring it home,
133
356627
1151
06:09
but before you try
to put things back together,
to put things back together,
134
357802
2784
06:12
I want you to try to do it
in a bucket of water.
in a bucket of water.
135
360610
2824
06:15
It's not going to work, right?
We all know this.
We all know this.
136
363458
2309
06:17
So obviously, marine biology
has solved this,
has solved this,
137
365791
2098
06:19
so what we need to do is figure out
ways to be able to copy this ourselves.
ways to be able to copy this ourselves.
138
367913
4591
06:24
And one of the issues here is,
139
372528
1929
06:26
you can't just go and get
the materials from the beach,
the materials from the beach,
140
374481
2651
06:29
because if you get a bunch of mussels
141
377156
1762
06:30
and try to milk them for their adhesive,
142
378942
1912
06:32
you'll get a little bit of material,
143
380878
1763
06:34
but you're never going to have enough
to do anything with,
to do anything with,
144
382665
2793
06:37
just enough to see.
145
385482
1151
06:38
We need to scale this up,
ideally maybe train car scale.
ideally maybe train car scale.
146
386657
3127
06:41
So on the top is an image
of one of the types of molecules
of one of the types of molecules
147
389808
4173
06:46
that the animals are using
to make their glue,
to make their glue,
148
394005
2175
06:48
and what they are is they're very long
molecules, they're called proteins,
molecules, they're called proteins,
149
396204
3547
06:51
and these proteins happen to have
some fairly unique parts in them
some fairly unique parts in them
150
399775
3231
06:55
that bring about the adhesive properties.
151
403030
2836
06:57
What we want to do is take
those little parts of that chemistry,
those little parts of that chemistry,
152
405890
3001
07:00
and we want to put it
into other long molecules that we can get
into other long molecules that we can get
153
408915
3166
07:04
but things that we can make
on a really large scale,
on a really large scale,
154
412105
2429
07:06
so you might know them
as plastics or polymers,
as plastics or polymers,
155
414558
2253
07:08
and so we're sort of
simplifying what they do,
simplifying what they do,
156
416835
2237
07:11
but then putting that adhesion chemistry
into these large molecules.
into these large molecules.
157
419096
3343
07:14
And we've developed many different
adhesive systems in doing this,
adhesive systems in doing this,
158
422463
3097
07:17
and when you make
a new adhesive that looks pretty good,
a new adhesive that looks pretty good,
159
425584
2701
07:20
what do you do?
160
428309
1151
07:21
You start running around the lab,
just sticking stuff together.
just sticking stuff together.
161
429484
2967
07:24
We took a tiny bit of a glue
and glued together two pieces of metal
and glued together two pieces of metal
162
432475
3241
07:27
and we wanted to hang something from it,
163
435740
1975
07:29
so we used a pot of live mussels
and thought we were very clever.
and thought we were very clever.
164
437739
3611
07:33
(Laughs)
165
441374
1007
07:34
We're obviously much more
quantitative about this most often,
quantitative about this most often,
166
442405
3344
07:37
and so we benchmark
against commercial adhesives,
against commercial adhesives,
167
445773
2435
07:40
and we actually have some materials now
that are stronger than superglue.
that are stronger than superglue.
168
448232
3895
07:44
So to me, that's really cool.
169
452151
1429
07:45
That's a good day in the lab.
It's stronger than superglue.
It's stronger than superglue.
170
453604
2937
07:48
And here's something else that we can do.
171
456565
2157
07:51
So this is a tank of seawater,
172
459125
2122
07:53
and then, in that syringe
is one of our adhesive formulations,
is one of our adhesive formulations,
173
461271
3802
07:57
and what we're doing is
we're dispensing it completely underwater,
we're dispensing it completely underwater,
174
465097
3174
08:00
on a piece of metal.
175
468295
1397
08:01
And then, we want to make
an adhesive bond, or joint,
an adhesive bond, or joint,
176
469716
2569
08:04
and so we take another piece of metal
177
472309
2288
08:06
and we put it on there
and just position it.
and just position it.
178
474621
2921
08:09
And you want to let it set up
for a while, give it a chance,
for a while, give it a chance,
179
477566
3696
08:13
so we'll just put a weight
on it, nothing fancy.
on it, nothing fancy.
180
481286
2273
08:15
This is a tube with lead shot
in it, nothing fancy.
in it, nothing fancy.
181
483583
3199
08:18
And then you let it sit for a while.
182
486806
1769
08:20
So this has never seen air.
It's completely underwater.
It's completely underwater.
183
488599
2772
08:23
And you pick it up.
184
491395
1158
08:24
I never know what's going to happen.
185
492577
1785
08:26
I'm always very anxious here.
186
494386
1626
08:28
Pick it up ...
187
496036
1150
08:29
and it's stuck.
188
497840
1467
08:31
To me, this is really cool.
189
499331
1349
08:32
So we can actually get
very strong underwater adhesion.
very strong underwater adhesion.
190
500704
3775
08:36
Possibly, it's the strongest
or at least one of the strongest
or at least one of the strongest
191
504503
2961
08:39
underwater adhesives
that's ever been seen.
that's ever been seen.
192
507488
2063
08:41
It's even stronger than the materials
that the animals produce,
that the animals produce,
193
509575
3435
08:45
so for us, it's pretty exciting.
It's pretty cool.
It's pretty cool.
194
513034
2436
08:47
So what do we want to do
with these things?
with these things?
195
515494
2325
08:49
Well, here are some products
that you're probably really familiar with.
that you're probably really familiar with.
196
517843
3334
08:53
So think about your cell phone,
your laptop, plywood in most structures,
your laptop, plywood in most structures,
197
521201
5050
08:58
the interior of your car, shoes,
phone books, things like this.
phone books, things like this.
198
526275
3409
09:01
They're all held together with adhesives,
199
529708
2234
09:03
and there's two main problems
with the adhesives
with the adhesives
200
531966
2333
09:06
used in these materials.
201
534323
1286
09:07
The first one is that they're toxic.
202
535633
1819
09:09
So the worst offender here is plywood.
203
537476
2554
09:12
Plywood, or a lot of furniture,
or wood laminate in floors --
or wood laminate in floors --
204
540054
3920
09:15
a main component of the adhesives
here is formaldehyde,
here is formaldehyde,
205
543998
4487
09:20
and it's maybe a compound you've heard of.
206
548509
2001
09:22
It's a gas, and it's also a carcinogen,
207
550534
2877
09:25
and so we're constructing
a lot of structures from these adhesives,
a lot of structures from these adhesives,
208
553435
3541
09:29
and we're also breathing
a lot of this carcinogen.
a lot of this carcinogen.
209
557000
2335
09:31
So not good, obviously. Right?
210
559359
1854
09:33
The other issue is that these adhesives
are all permanent.
are all permanent.
211
561237
3044
09:36
And so what do you do with your shoes
or your car or even your laptop
or your car or even your laptop
212
564305
3321
09:39
at the end of life,
when you're done using it?
when you're done using it?
213
567650
2176
09:41
For the most part,
they end up in landfills.
they end up in landfills.
214
569850
2064
09:43
And there's a lot
of precious materials in there
of precious materials in there
215
571938
2388
09:46
we'd love to be able to get out
and recycle them.
and recycle them.
216
574350
2341
09:48
We can't do it so easily
217
576715
1151
09:49
because they're all stuck
together permanently.
together permanently.
218
577890
2245
09:52
So here's one approach we're taking
to try and solve some of these problems,
to try and solve some of these problems,
219
580159
3651
09:55
and what we've done here
is we've taken another long molecule
is we've taken another long molecule
220
583834
4887
10:00
that we can actually get from corn,
221
588745
1755
10:02
and then into that molecule,
222
590524
1475
10:04
we've put some of the adhesion
chemistry from the mussels.
chemistry from the mussels.
223
592023
2793
10:06
So because we've got the corn
and we've got the mussels,
and we've got the mussels,
224
594840
2674
10:09
we call this our surf-and-turf polymer.
225
597538
2223
10:11
And it sticks. It sticks really well.
226
599785
2039
10:13
It's very strong.
227
601848
1270
10:15
It's also bio-based. That's nice.
228
603142
1921
10:17
But maybe more importantly, here,
it's also degradable,
it's also degradable,
229
605087
2825
10:19
and we can degrade it
under very mild conditions, with water.
under very mild conditions, with water.
230
607936
3072
10:23
And so what we can do
is we can set things up
is we can set things up
231
611032
2112
10:25
and we can bond them
strongly when we want,
strongly when we want,
232
613168
2745
10:27
but then we can also take them apart.
233
615937
2108
10:30
It's something we're thinking about.
234
618069
1716
10:31
And here is a place
where a lot of us want to be.
where a lot of us want to be.
235
619809
3454
10:35
Well, actually, in this specific case,
this is a place we do not want to be,
this is a place we do not want to be,
236
623287
3712
10:39
but we'd like to replace this.
237
627023
1641
10:40
So sutures, staples, screws:
238
628688
2003
10:42
this is how we put you back together
if you've had some surgery or an injury.
if you've had some surgery or an injury.
239
630715
3621
10:46
It's just awful. It hurts.
240
634360
1946
10:48
In the case of the sutures,
look at how much you're making
look at how much you're making
241
636330
5151
10:53
concentrated, mechanical stresses
as you pull things together.
as you pull things together.
242
641505
2905
10:56
You're making sites for infection.
243
644434
1761
10:58
Poke holes in healthy tissue.
It's not so good.
It's not so good.
244
646846
2390
11:01
Or if you need a plate
to hold together your bones,
to hold together your bones,
245
649260
3238
11:04
look at how much healthy bone
you have to drill out
you have to drill out
246
652522
2391
11:06
just to hold the plate in place.
247
654937
1550
11:08
So this is awful.
248
656511
1151
11:09
To me, it looks like these were things
devised in a medieval torture chamber,
devised in a medieval torture chamber,
249
657686
3739
11:13
but it's our modern surgical joinery.
250
661449
1782
11:15
So I'd love it if we could replace
systems like these with adhesives.
systems like these with adhesives.
251
663255
5208
11:20
We're working on this,
but this is not easy.
but this is not easy.
252
668487
2778
11:23
So think about what you would need
for adhesives in these cases.
for adhesives in these cases.
253
671289
3055
11:26
So first of all, you would need
an adhesive that is going to set
an adhesive that is going to set
254
674368
3247
11:29
in a wet environment.
255
677639
1557
11:31
And if you look at the silly
little picture there,
little picture there,
256
679220
2391
11:33
it's just to illustrate that our bodies
are about 60 percent water,
are about 60 percent water,
257
681635
4530
11:38
so it's a wet environment.
258
686189
1296
11:39
It's also to illustrate that this is why
I am a scientist and not an artist.
I am a scientist and not an artist.
259
687509
4183
11:43
I did not miss my calling at all.
260
691716
2794
11:46
So then the other requirements
you need for a good biomedical adhesive:
you need for a good biomedical adhesive:
261
694534
3573
11:50
it needs to bond strongly, of course,
262
698131
2565
11:52
and it needs to not be toxic.
263
700720
1733
11:54
You don't want to hurt the patients.
264
702477
2324
11:56
And getting any two of those requirements
in a material is pretty easy.
in a material is pretty easy.
265
704825
3461
12:00
It's been done many times.
But getting all three hasn't been done.
But getting all three hasn't been done.
266
708310
3161
12:03
It's very hard.
267
711495
1151
12:04
And if you start talking to surgeons,
they get picky --
they get picky --
268
712670
2604
12:07
"Oh, actually I want the adhesive to set
on the same time frame as the surgery."
on the same time frame as the surgery."
269
715298
4437
12:11
Or, "Oh, I want the adhesive to degrade
270
719759
2344
12:14
so the patient's tissues
can remodel the site."
can remodel the site."
271
722127
2823
12:16
So this is really hard.
We're working on it.
We're working on it.
272
724974
2404
12:20
This is just one image we have.
273
728466
1532
12:22
So what we're doing is we're getting
all sorts of bones and skin
all sorts of bones and skin
274
730022
3031
12:25
and soft and hard tissue, and sometimes
we'll whack it with a hammer.
we'll whack it with a hammer.
275
733077
3396
12:28
Usually, we're cutting it
in precise shapes.
in precise shapes.
276
736497
2079
12:30
And then we glue them back together.
277
738600
1740
12:32
We've got some exciting results,
some strong materials,
some strong materials,
278
740364
2855
12:35
some things that look
like they're not toxic,
like they're not toxic,
279
743243
2222
12:37
they set wet,
280
745489
1182
12:38
but I'm not going to tell you
we've solved the wet adhesion problem,
we've solved the wet adhesion problem,
281
746695
3232
12:41
because we haven't,
282
749951
1151
12:43
but it's certainly
in our sights for the future.
in our sights for the future.
283
751126
2309
12:45
So that's one place that we'd like
to see things go farther down the road.
to see things go farther down the road.
284
753459
4326
12:49
And there are a lot of other places, too,
you can imagine we might be better off
you can imagine we might be better off
285
757809
3762
12:53
if we could get more adhesives in there.
286
761595
1990
12:55
Even cosmetics.
287
763609
1151
12:56
So if you think about people putting on
fake nails or eyelash extensions,
fake nails or eyelash extensions,
288
764784
4975
13:01
what do they use?
289
769783
1595
13:03
They use very toxic adhesives right now.
290
771402
2199
13:05
So it's just ripe for replacement.
291
773625
1706
13:07
That's something we'd like to do.
292
775355
1573
13:08
And then there are other places too.
293
776952
1749
13:10
So think about cars and planes.
294
778725
1577
13:12
The lighter you can make them,
295
780326
1429
13:13
the more fuel-efficient
they're going to be.
they're going to be.
296
781779
2111
13:15
And so if we can get away from rivets
and get away from welding
and get away from welding
297
783914
3020
13:18
and put more adhesives in there,
298
786958
1525
13:20
then we might be better off
299
788507
1380
13:21
with our future generation
of transportation.
of transportation.
300
789911
2105
13:24
So for us, this all
comes back to the beach.
comes back to the beach.
301
792040
4657
13:28
So we look around and we wonder,
"How do these sea creatures stick?
"How do these sea creatures stick?
302
796721
3423
13:32
And what can we do with the technology?"
303
800168
1859
13:34
And I would argue that we have
really a lot of things we can still learn
really a lot of things we can still learn
304
802051
4465
13:38
from biology and from nature.
305
806540
1405
13:39
So what I would like to encourage
you all to do in the future
you all to do in the future
306
807969
3917
13:43
is put down your nonrecyclable
laptops and cell phones
laptops and cell phones
307
811910
4511
13:48
and go out and explore the natural world
308
816445
2000
13:50
and then start asking
some of your own questions.
some of your own questions.
309
818469
2287
13:52
Thanks very much.
310
820780
1378
13:54
(Applause)
311
822182
4183
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Jonathan Wilker - Scientist, engineerJonathan Wilker explores the science and engineering happening within our oceans. He works to understand the ways that sea creatures survive and how we can adapt their technologies to create new materials.
Why you should listen
Jonathan Wilker is a professor of chemistry and materials engineering at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, US. Prior to arriving at Purdue in 1999, he received a bachelor's degree from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, a PhD at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and was a postdoctoral scholar at the California Institute of Technology. His research has been recognized with a Beckman Young Investigator Award, an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship and a National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award. His teaching has also received several awards at Purdue. He is always on the lookout for new projects when at the beach or while underwater scuba diving.
Jonathan Wilker | Speaker | TED.com