During a downpour in the rainforests of Southeast Asia, one sound you will not hear is the patter of geckos hitting the ground. Their sticky feet keep them adhered in habitats all over the world, from jungles to deserts to glass-windowed cities. Yet scientists have found that there is one way to loosen the lizards. Soaking geckos’ feet in water, or submerging the surface they walk on, defeats their sticky superpower—and gives new clues to researchers trying to replicate it for human use.
Gecko feet have inspired much investigation and imitation by human scientists, who have found that the animals take advantage of attractions between molecules called van der Waal’s forces. These attractions are ordinarily very weak. But the soles of geckos’ feet are covered with tiny, branched hairs that end in flattened pads. This increases the surface area of the feet so much that the weak van der Waal’s ...
