Prototype gecko glue developed by scientists at University of California, Berkeley according to Nature Science Update 28 August 2002.
Geckos are small reptiles that can cling to any surface at any angle (including upside-down) because their feet have thousands of microscopic spatula shaped bristles that can form temporary atomic bonds, called van der Waals forces, with the atoms of whatever surface they come in contact with, except for teflon which does not support van der Waals forces.
When the gecko’s atomic bonding process was discovered, the scientists who reported it in Nature (vol 415, p681, 2000) said it would make a good dry adhesive but was “beyond human technology” to manufacture. That didn’t stop them from working on it and two years later they have now come up with a prototype.
Editorial Comment: It took a team of intelligent scientists many years to work out how geckos’ toes worked and then create a less efficient copy. This is excellent evidence that original “gecko glue” was made by a more intelligent creator.