Blood and Barnacles

Have you ever wondered how barnacles manage to hang on to ships so tightly? Probably not, but researchers who did have recently discovered some interesting similarities between barnacle glue and human blood. This submarine cement has strikingly similar properties to a human blood coagulant, factor XIII, which aids in forming scabs. In fact researchers believe barnacle glue is a special form of wound healing. Experimenters collected and studied this glue before it had a chance to set and noticed some small tangled webs of fiber that resembled blood clots. They also discovered clot enhancing enzymes similar to those in human blood. By using mass spectrometry, the team found proteins in the barnacle glue similar to factor XIII. These proteins cause fibers to crosslink and form clots. Evolutionarily speaking, the fact that similar proteins are found in both systems suggests that these processes evolved from a common ancestor. While you may not be especially concerned about a few barnacles on the bottom of a boat, these hitchhikers cut fuel efficiency for ships and other marine industries—and who knows, you might have more in common than you originally thought.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/post.cfm?id=scabby-naves-barnacles-bind-to-ship-2009-10-16

Posted by Justine Hoch