Televisions have evolved from clunky, overweight boxes into slim, flat-screen electronics that seamlessly blend into most living rooms.  Their new design doesn’t make them any easier to mount on a wall though.  Think about all the screws and hardware needed in mounting and what is left behind when the television is ripped from its moors -unsightly holes and damaged paint. Imagine a way to get that television, bookcase, or oversized oil painting to stick to the wall with nothing but a sticky substance similar to what is found on gecko’s feet. 

Michael Bartlett, a polymer scientist, worked with biologist Duncan Irschick, and Alfred Crosby at the University of Massachusetts Amherst’s polymer science and engineering lab to develop an industrial strength adhesive they call “Geckskin.”

Crosby says, "Our Geckskin device is about 16 inches square, about the size of an index card, and can hold a maximum force of about 700 pounds while adhering to a smooth surface such as glass." 

For more than twenty years Irshik has studied the gecko’s amazing ability to climb and cling to varying surfaces using nothing but it’s sticky feet.  The best part is that gecko’s feet don’t leave behind any residue, they can lift them with the same ease as they can place them, and they never lose adhesiveness. All the qualities current tapes, glues and stickers don’t have including the ability to hold the weight of two baby elephants.

According to the abstract many scientists have tried to duplicate the ability for human use but have been unsuccessful.

How did they manage to do it? How many poor little gecko feet were squeezed of their stickiness? The team first started by looking at previous studies and found they focused on recreating setae, or the teeny- tiny hairs on gecko’s toes. Irshik knew a gecko’s foot is fine-tuned and adhesion is possible because the foot’s parts-bones, tendons, and skin all work together. The team eliminated the need for setae in Geckskin which had never been done before.

Instead they created “an integrated adhesive with a soft pad woven into a stiff fabric, which allows the pad to ‘drape’ over a surface to maximize contact. Then to further replicate a gecko foot “the skin is woven into a synthetic ‘tendon.’ 

The Geckskin’s adhesive pad uses polydimethylsiloxane, which is also found in Silly Putty, because it’s durable and inexpensive.

"Our design for Geckskin shows the true integrative power of evolution for inspiring synthetic design that can ultimately aid humans in many ways," says Irschick.

News of Geckskin made its way around the Internet today and the biggest question was: “When will I be able to buy it and start pretending to be Spiderman?”