COW GUT GLUE
July 1st, 2004
BY MONICA DOBIEBACTERIA in the digestive tracts of cows and other herbivores, that help break down the tough fibre in their diets, could be used as the base for a biological wood glue. Scientists from the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) in the United States have discovered that the microbes secrete a sticky outer coating that allows them to cling to a surface, similar to how cavity-causing bacteria adhere to teeth. The ARS has concluded that through natural fermentation this slime could form into an adhesive residue strong enough to create wood products like ...
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