How hagfish deploy their exploding slime to choke attackers

Newsweek (Jan. 15) -- Hagfish are deep-sea eel-like creatures that, when attacked, produce a slime that explodes out to choke their assailant. The slime forms from a small amount of mucus that is ejected from the creature’s glands. As it enters the water, it expands by a factor of around 10,000 and turns into a mass that clogs up the gills of its predators. In a study published in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface, researchers led by Gaurav Chaudhary, a graduate student in mechanical science and engineering at Illinois, have now started to figure out how the slime unravels. Also: New Scientist (Jan. 16), Science Magazine (Jan. 15), Ars Technica (Jan. 17), Physics World (Jan. 18), The Atlantic (Jan. 23)