If you ever wanted to be able to stick to walls like Spider-Man, then listen to this!

How do geckos and ants walk easily up walls and across the ceiling?

Is an insect foot sticky in the same way as a reptilian tootsie?

And how does underwater stickiness compare? Just how is that barnacle attached to that boat?

Featuring:

• Rishab Pillai, James Cook University.
• Dr Christofer Clemente, University of the Sunshine Coast.
• Dr Eleanor Velasquez, Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network (TERN) at UQ.

Production:

• Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer.
• Petria Ladgrove, Producer.
• Joel Werner, Script Editing.

This episode of What the Duck?! was originally broadcast in 2022 and produced on the land of the Wadawarrung and the Kaurna people.

Find more episodes of the ABC podcast, What the Duck?! with the always curious Dr Ann Jones exploring the mysteries of nature on the ABC Listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. You’ll learn more about the weird and unusual aspects of our natural world in a quirky, fun way with easy to understand science.