Brexit might be the ugliest word in the entire history of language – managing to simultaneously sound like the name of a minor multinational adhesives conglomeration and the noise you make when you barf three litres of semi-digested Weetabix into a metal colander – but that hasn't stopped the prospect of an EU referendum from dominating the news cycle.
Beyond the mundane problem of labelling fruit, good adhesives have important uses.
At well under $2 a kilo, PHAs are a plausible replacement for plastics used in adhesives and coatings.Search for fresh sourcesAlthough several thousand enzymes are known, the actual number that industry has to work with is not that large.
This could precipitate a big shift in the window industry, and its focus on spacers, adhesives and sealants: "All of that goes out the window," he says.Once the home has been duly sealed, the flow of air, moisture and heat in and out of it can be carefully controlled.
(Understanding stickiness is obviously important in the chemical industry, which needs to ensure that adhesives are sticky, but that paints are not).
It is used to remove dangerous substances such as trichlorethene (used in paint strippers and adhesives) and arsenic.
And, in a nod to butylcyanoacrylate's origins in superglue, capsules containing chemicals that will react to form adhesives when two surfaces are put together are also on the horizon.
With adhesives for biomedical use, studying sticky materials found in nature may prove particularly promising.
Adhesives, arrows, sewing needles, ochre-decorated pictograms and jewellery made from shells are all contemporary with Dr Wadley's finds.
Intuitively, it might seem that less effort should be needed as the probe moves further away but for efficient adhesives that has not been found to be the case either.
