The poor hagfish. It’s stuck with an unpleasant name, and has a reputation for being kind of disgusting. To top it all off, this eel-like creature’s one claim to fame is a sticky, oozing gunk, which it produces when it feels threatened. Yuck! But researchers are finding out that hagfish slime, while gross, is actually pretty remarkable stuff.
Scientists have long known that the hagfish uses this stringy glop as a way to hunt for food, as well as a method of defending themselves from predators. What they didn’t know was how useful this one substance could actually be. A team of scientists from Switzerland recently published a study in Scientific Reports, illustrating how the versatile hagfish slime works.
The gooey slime produced by the hagfish is actually pretty fascinating. Called Myxine glutinosa (Greek for “mucus glue”), hagfish slime is a combination of protein and sugar molecules called mucin. First, the hagfish produces a concentrated batch of “pre-slime,” only a small amount of which is needed to produce buckets of the sticky end product. When it comes in contact with seawater, the resulting hagfish slime adheres to, and essentially suffocates, an attacking fish. It’s a pretty effective defense for the hagfish. So how does the slime-covered hagfish escape the same fate? After being coated in its own sticky mess, the hagfish loops itself into a knot, then slides the knot down its body to scrape off the slime.
Science is also finding that, apart from being super sticky and potentially deadly to predatory fish, hagfish slime could have many useful applications on land. This organic substance could have use in the medical field, like being used to stop bleeding. The slime would react to the salt in blood and expand, covering a wound. Stretchy yet strong, it could use in bioengineering. One researcher has even attempted to spin fibers from hagfish slime, believing they could be used in a manner similar to Kevlar, but the jury is still out on that one.
So, the hagfish and its gooey slime are earning a newfound respect in the scientific world, and the developments that come from their research could be promising. Check out this fascinating video clip from National Geographic that shows just what the humble hagfish is made of when faced with impending doom.
