A biological super glue from mistletoe berries?

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A biological super glue from mistletoe berries?
A biological super glue from mistletoe berries?
A biological super glue from mistletoe berries? Each mistletoe berry can produce up to two metres of a gluey thread called viscin. It allows the seeds of this parasitic plant to stick to and infect host plants. Since ancient times, mistletoe berries have been explored as treatments for everything from infertility and epilepsy to cancer. But, until now, no one has fully investigated the potential medical or technical uses of the glue itself. A recent paper from McGill University and the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, published in PNAS Nexus , suggests that through simple processing, viscin's ultra-stiff flexible fibres, which adhere to both skin and cartilage as well as to various synthetic materials, could have a range of applications - both biomedical and beyond. It is a discovery that came about almost by chance - sparked by the actions of a young girl. -I had never seen mistletoe before living in Germany,- said Matthew Harrington , a senior author on the paper, and an associate professor in the Department of Chemistry at McGill University, and the Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Green Chemistry.
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