Hagfish slime as an option to plastics and other materials?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the potential applications of hagfish slime as an alternative to plastics and other materials. Participants explore the unique properties of hagfish slime, including its mechanical characteristics and possible uses in various contexts, such as packaging and personal care products.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants highlight the unique properties of hagfish slime, noting its temperature-independent gel strength and the presence of fine fibers that provide tensile strength and toughness.
  • One participant humorously questions the practicality of using hagfish slime for grocery packaging, suggesting it could provoke interesting reactions from the public.
  • Another participant makes a light-hearted remark about the potential use of hagfish slime in personal care, questioning its acceptance in hair products.
  • There is a suggestion that if people are willing to consume hotdogs, they might also be open to using hagfish slime in various applications.
  • One participant expresses a humorous aversion to fast food, indirectly referencing the discussion about hagfish slime.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on the acceptability or practicality of hagfish slime as a material for everyday use. The discussion includes both humorous takes and serious considerations, indicating a mix of opinions and uncertainty about public reception.

Contextual Notes

Some assumptions about the public's willingness to accept hagfish slime in various applications remain unexamined. The discussion does not resolve the feasibility or desirability of using hagfish slime in consumer products.

Ivan Seeking
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So thinks the researcher in the second link.

Hagfish are primitive, eel-like fish that are nearly blind and lack jaws or true vertebrae, but they have the unnerving capability of producing copious amounts of slime when disturbed...

... Unlike the mucous produced by the membranes of humans and other animals, which become more rigid, viscous gels at and below ambient body temperatures, the researchers (Gavin Braithwaite, 617-629-4400, gavin@campoly.com; Douglas Fudge, dfudge@interchange.ubc.ca) found that Hagfish slime is much less elastic, even at high concentrations, than its human counterpart.

In addition, over the ranges of temperatures encountered by the hagfish, the gel strength is relatively temperature independent. The insensitivity to temperature perhaps ensures that slime is an effective defense in a variety of conditions. In addition, artificial materials that mimic Hagfish slime chemistry might make good space-filling gels.

http://www.aip.org/enews/physnews/2003/split/660-3.html


Hagfish slime is unlike other slimy secretions in that it is reinforced with very fine fibres. Our data show that these fibres lend tensile strength and toughness to the slime. Subsequent research will investigate the mechanical properties of the mucus component of the slime, as well as the properties of naturally-produced slime cocoons.

http://www.zoology.ubc.ca/labs/biomaterials/slime.html
 
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I guess that could lead to questions such as "Would you like your groceries in paper or hagfish slime?" It would be interesting to note the people's reactions.
 
I sure know that I'll be the first to have my colon lined with hagfish!
 
Originally posted by motai
I guess that could lead to questions such as "Would you like your groceries in paper or hagfish slime?" It would be interesting to note the people's reactions.





I doubt people will want to put hagfish slime in their hair... unless we are already doing it and arent being told
 
Anyone willing to eat a hotdog should be willing to do most anything with hagfish slime.
 
i think i have been put off fast food for life, thanks a lot Ivan