Sticking Power: Geckos Face Some Competition

Geckos are small lizards that live in warm climates.  These lizards can stick to any surface.  For example, geckos can climb up walls and across the top of a room.  Scientists have studied the little creatures for hundreds of years to learn the secret of how they stick to things. They hoped the findings would help them develop powerful materials that hold things together.

 
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The hairs made by the scientists are only one ten-thousandth the width of a human hair.  They are made of extremely small movable carbon tubes, called nanotubes, placed in a plastic base.

New research suggests that the custom in parts of Africa and Asia to cut the sex organs of girls can cause infertility later in life.  Researchers believe this is the result of infections that spread to the reproductive organs.

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