There have been adhesives developed from studying mussels and gecko feet. Scientists are now discovering oysters have some special natural adhesives of their own, Special Adhesive Helps Oysters Stick Together
Both oyster shell and oyster adhesive are made of protein and calcium carbonate, said Jonathan Wilker, a chemist at Purdue University and one of the study’s authors.
However, while shell contains about 1 to 2 percent protein, oyster adhesive contains five times this amount.
Still, oysters seem to use far less protein in their adhesive than other marine animals do. Mussels and barnacles produce a softer glue with more protein, while oysters produce a harder cementlike material.
Researchers speculate oyster glues might be well suited for use to cement bones and as a dental glue (anyone ever have a crown fall off).
Feds Propose Letter Grades For Vehicle Efficiency
“New technologies such as battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids are entering the American market in greater numbers,” Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in a statement. “We need to provide consumers with labels that include fuel economy and environmental information so that buyers can make better informed decisions when purchasing new vehicles.”
The grades would range from an A+ to a D, perhaps to spare automakers from having to see their least efficient vehicles slapped with an F. To earn top marks, a vehicle would have to get at least 59 mpg or the equivalent, while anything getting 14 or below would earn a D.
I was a little doubtful the EPA was making things simpler for consumers after the first couple paragraphs. As the article continues one begins to see that easy comparison of what constitutes energy efficiency is already more complicated than the old mpg ratings. Thus consumers are left to figure out the cost/benefit of say a hybrid factoring in the cost of a full electric charge, the cost of the gas and ultimately coming up with a cost per mile of driving. The preliminary samples of stickers proposed seem simple enough. The one above would be for a hybrid. There are other sample stickers at the link.
Vault Freezes Coral Cells to Preserve Them From Extinction
In an effort to preserve the biodiversity of Hawaiian coral species, scientists at the University of Hawaii have created the first frozen coral cell bank — similar in concept to a seed bank for plants.
“Because frozen banked cells are viable, the frozen material can be thawed in one, 50 or, in theory, even 1000 years from now to restore a species or population,” said biologist Mary Hagedorn of the University of Hawaii in a press release. “In fact, some of the frozen sperm samples have already been thawed and used to fertilize coral eggs to produce developing coral larvae.”
This report is both encouraging and sad. It is great someone has the foresight to start such a bank, yet it is necessary because corals are in dire straights. Direct human activity is killing them – shipping , divers collecting them and partly as a result of global warming and the ensuing uptake of carbon dioxide. General ocean warming is also leading to increased incidents of coral bleaching.
tangledwing 
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