Thursday, January 17, 2013

Strong and Slimy

Brought to you by Izzy


Scientist Atsuko Negishi holds a hagfish in one hand and its slime in the other. She studies the ooze in the lab of materials scientist David Fudge, at far right. 
Credit: Andra Zommers/University of Guelph

9 comments:

Emilynne☯ said...

Wow! I never knew that hagfish slime could be used to make threads. I didn't even know about hagfish until I read this article, so I really would like to learn more. Again, and I almost always ask this question, how did it evolve? What are the specific proteins in the fibers? Could we replicate these proteins? How much slime does a hagfish produce? Could a hagfish be caught, then released back into the wild? We can't take too many hagfish, especially if they can't be released back into the wild. That might mess up the ecosystem. All in all, I really liked this article, and I think I might be OK with wearing hagfish slime clothing.

Nicholas said...

That is pretty cool. Same as Emilynne, I had never heard of hagfish before I read this article, and it would be cool. to know more. The fact that this is used to protect themselves is pretty cool. And who would have guessed that you can use this stuff to make threads. I think it is cool that they spray fibers that give it strength from over 100 pores. Overall, this was a cool animal, and an even cooler fish!

Jahan said...

This is an amazing article. I actually sent this blog link to Ms. Ghazarian and Izzy beat me (seriously). This could work in making cheap clothing, and we could just have 5 hagfish in one tank, put some fake predators in the tank, and take the slime to make the clothes. Also, this could really help clothes making. Then there will be a "new wave" on hagfish slime. A poster could say, "Try the all new hagfish slime clothing!" This could also help nature lovers be happy that they are wearing clothes that are made from animal "waste". They would not have to complain about animals being killed for clothes. Unfortunately, it would be hard to make fake predators for the hagfish to produce the slime and it would also be expensive for the predators to be resistant to the slime. They can create a slime-proof robot that would be in the shape of a hagfish predator. The hagfish would produce the slime, and then, some scientists could take the slime and make some clothes with it.

Elle said...

This is really cool! I have never heard of hagfish before this article. Like Nick said, it's pretty cool that they use this to protect themselves! I would have never guessed that the slime is used to make clothing! I love how Jahan was thinking about the "post-hagfish clothing wave". I wonder how they would make fake predators; maybe something similar to a robot. This fish is really awesome and the slime is even better!

Elena said...

I thought that this article was really interesting, but creepy in the same way. I think that this slime could be really useful, and maybe it can be used to keep houses warm. I don't know if it keeps the fish warm, but I think that it could be used to keep houses warm. I definitely wouldn't wear it! I would like to feel it. I think this is a really interesting article.

Sammie said...

I had never heard of hagfish before I read this article. I personally think hagfish look more like underwater sea worms than fish. Because the slime gags the predators, couldn't it kill them?
I think it's really cool that hagfish slime can be used to make threads. It would make really strong clothing and wouldn't be bad for the environment at all! However, I wonder if the hagfish slime is machine-washable. I don't think as many people would wear hagfish slime clothing if they had to take it to the dry-cleaners' every time it gets dirty. Since slime is, well, slimy, and that means it isn't entirely solid, even if it is really really really strong, I would think that a lot of dirt and other stuff would get stuck in it. Also, I imagine that clothing made out of slime would feel really weird and, even though I like the idea, kind of gross.

Alyssa said...

Cool! The hagfish is a really interesting animal. I have never heard about it before reading this article. It is also interesting to know that the slime that comes from the hagfish's pores gags a predator! I wonder if the hagfish has any other close relatives that could produce the same slime, but is caused by something other than for protection. It was very cool to find out that the slime has threads that can stretch out almost as far as spider's silk and could be used for clothing. I really like this article!

Izzy☆☺☮✌♥✎ said...

This is really cool! I know I posted it-don't judge;). Like Sammie said, hagFISH do look more like hagWORMS. In fact, I looked up pictures of them and they actually are kind of just sea slugs. Anyways, this is really cool. I think that I would wear clothes made out of hagfish slime.
Overall, this was pretty awesome. I would like to find out more about this animal.

Sabina☆❀❄❤ said...

This article is very interesting. I didn't really know what hagfish were before I read this article, so I looked up some pictures. I agree with Izzy that they really do look like sea slugs. I still think that it is really cool that we can make things like clothes out of this slime. Plus, the article also stated that hagfish use this to protect themselves from predators. Although I see one problem: If we were to use a lot of hagfish slime, it could be bad because it could hurt the environment. Plus, if we have to put hagfish to sleep, (meaning forever) it would endanger a lot of them. I am probably willing to wear hagfish slime clothing.
Overall, I enjoyed reading this article.