Check out self-healing plastic that 'heals' once you add water

folarin okunola

September 3, 2015 3:06 PM

Scientists are studying the cephalopod's ring teeth for a way to create a material that heals when water's present

Squid

Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania have been doing something interesting with the squid. Wondering what that could be? Well, the scientists are studying the cephalopod's ring teeth for a way to create a material that heals when water's present, similar to the way those tentacle-bound choppers do.

READ: Contributors have raised N143 million to restore the suit Neil Armstrong wore to the moon

According to the report – which was spotted by Popular Science, the researchers were able to reproduce the type of proteins found in the self-healing squid teeth and trigger bacteria to make it in a lab environment.

To test just how strong the new substance was, the scientists formed the protein into the shape of a dog bone and cut it in two with a razor blade.

After pressing the two segments back together, sprinkling a bit of water on them and applying pressure, the pieces fused and were still as strong as they were before they were cut.

READ: 'Smart' solar palm trees power Wi-Fi, phones

According to Engadget, this type of material could be used to coat things like deep-sea internet cables or perhaps help biomedical devices have a longer lifespan, but is still a ways off from getting to production stage.

folarin okunola