What do you do if you are a tiny caddisfly larva growing up in a torrent of water and debris? Simple. You build a shelter out of carefully selected pebbles and some homespun waterproof tape. SUBSCRIBE to Deep Look! http://goo.gl/8NwXqt DEEP LOOK is a ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Get a new perspective on our place in the universe and meet extraordinary new friends. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small. * NEW VIDEOS EVERY OTHER TUESDAY! * We already mimic them to make fly-fishing lures. But now scientists believe copycatting one tiny insect could hold promise for repairing human tissues and setting bones. Instead of stitches and screws, doctors may soon call on the next generation of medical adhesives — glues and tape — to patch us up internally. The inspiration? Caddisflies, a type of stream-dwelling, fish-baiting insects that live in creeks all across the United States. As a larva, the caddisfly constructs a tiny tube-like house for itself, called a case, entirely underwater, using pebbles and its incredible homespun tape as the mortar. Thanks to the qualities of this amazing silk, the case not only holds up when submerged, it is strong enough to protect the caddisfly’s soft lower body amid forces many times its body weight. Any tape, including this one, has two basic components: the flat ribbon, or backing, and the layer of sticky stuff, or the glue. From the materials science standpoint, caddisfly tape is extraordinary in both departments. Caddisfly silk biomimicry is only in its infancy, but one day, a similar compound might be used inside the body, which is another watery environment, to mend soft tissues and even repair hard ones, such as teeth and bone. In the streambed, or brook, the caddisfly’s case eventually becomes a cocoon. Like its land-based cousins, the butterflies and moths, from whom it diverged 250 millions years ago, the caddisfly larva undergoes a metamorphosis. It seals up its case with a so-called “hat stone” and emerges months later as a winged adult. --- Where do caddisflies live? Caddisflies are most common in shallow, cold, turbulent streams, where the water is highly oxygenated. --- What do caddisflies eat? Caddisflies are herbivores, they eat decaying plant matter and algae on the rocks in the streams where they live. --- What is so special about caddisfly silk? Engineers are interested in two attributes of caddisfly silk. First of all, it can bond to something, such as a pebble, underwater, which no glue people have made can replicate. Second its “viscoelastic” properties allow to it harmlessly absorb physical forces. When stretched, it doesn’t snap back like a rubber band. It returns to its original shape slowly and safely. It's an engineering marvel. ---+ Read the entire article on KQED Science: https://ww2.kqed.org/science/2016/08/09/sticky-stretchy-waterproof-the-amazing-underwater-tape-of-the-caddisfly/ ---+ For more information: Troutnut.com http://www.troutnut.com/hatch/12/Insect-Trichoptera-Caddisflies ---+ More Great Deep Look episodes: This Vibrating Bumblebee Unlocks a Flower's Hidden Treasure https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZrTndD1H10 These Carnivorous Worms Catch Bugs by Mimicking the Night Sky https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLb0iuTVzW0 ---+ See some great videos and documentaries from the PBS Digital Studios! It's Okay to Be Smart: Venom: Nature’s Killer Cocktails https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qd92MuVZXik Gross Science: Sea Turtles Get Herpes, Too https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpqP9bUUInI ---+ Follow KQED Science: KQED Science: http://www.kqed.org/science Tumblr: http://kqedscience.tumblr.com Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/kqedscience ---+ About KQED KQED, an NPR and PBS affiliate in San Francisco, CA, serves Northern California and beyond with a public-supported alternative to commercial TV, Radio and web media. Funding for Deep Look is provided in part by PBS Digital Studios and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Deep Look is a project of KQED Science, which is also supported by HopeLab, the S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, the Dirk and Charlene Kabcenell Foundation, the Vadasz Family Foundation, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the Smart Family Foundation and the members of KQED. #deeplook

• published: 09 Aug 2016
• views: 6156290