Scientists now have a clearer picture of the molecular structures that give the animal its grip.

View as a Web Page Gecko Feet Are Coated in an Ultra-Thin Layer of Lipids That Help Them Stay Sticky Geckos are famous for having grippy feet that allow them to scale vertical surfaces with ease. They get this seeming superpower from millions of microscopic, hairlike structures on their toes. Now, scientists have zoomed in for an even closer look at those structures, called setae, and found that they are coated in an ultra-thin film of water-repelling lipid molecules only one nanometer, or billionths of a meter, thick. Researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) analyzed the surface of the setae using high-energy X-rays thrown off by a type of particle accelerator called a synchrotron. The synchrotron microscope showed that the lipid molecules line the surface of the setae in dense, orderly arrays. Read More IN CASE YOU MISSED IT Neutrons Help Measure Cell Membrane Viscosity — and Reveal Its Basis Aug. 12, 2021 We now have a clearer picture of the lightning-fast molecular dance occurring within the membrane that encloses each cell in our body, revealed in part by neutron beams at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The findings may have applications in drug development, and they also address long-standing fundamental mysteries about why cell membranes move as they do. Read More

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