Would You Wear Hagfish Slime?

Article by Suzy Franch

Note: The author's views are entirely his or her own and may not reflect the views of RetoxMagazine.com

Hagfish Slime - The Eco-Friendly Solution To Clothes

Sea life never fails to impress us. Scientists believe hagfish slime or similar proteins has potential to become a stretchy fabric. This eel-shaped, slime-producing creature may open a new set of doors to the future of fashion.

Would You Wear Hagfish Slime?

Hagfish slime is composed of thin, but strong and very stretchy fibres. When you stretch the fibres in water and then dry them out, they become a silky, stretchy substance. In the future, hagfish slime could provide fibres for Eco-friendly clothing. Your tights or breathable athletic wear could be made of hagfish slime. So while you exercise in your breathable athletic bodywear at your local gym or show off your fabulous tights on your date, be sure to remember…Slime.

It is unlikely that we will ever see massive hagfish farms as no one has ever been successful at getting hagfish to breed in captivity. Instead, scientists hope to make proteins similar to the ones found in hagfish slime artificially in the lab.

No-one has woven a spool of hagfish thread yet, but scientists are currently working on it.

A Few Facts About Hagfish

1. Hagfish have been around for 300 millions years and are some of the most primitive fish in existence today.

2. Hagfish live at the bottom of the ocean, have a sluggish metabolism and can survive months between feedings.

3. Hagfish are an average of about half a meter in length and have elongated, eel-like bodies.

4. Hagfish can be found in many colours, depending on the species, ranging from pink to blue-grey. Black or white spots maybe also be present.

5. Hagfish eyes are simple eyespots, not compound eyes that can resolve image. Eyespots can detect light.

6. Hagfish can feed upon and often even enter and eviscerate the bodies of dead and dying or injured sea creatures much larger than themselves. Dead whale is a favourite.

7. Hagfish have a very unique defence mechanism. If moved or disturbed, they can speedily produce huge amounts of slime from about 100 existing glands which are along the sides of their bodies.

8. When hagfish slime gets mixed with seawater, it expands, creating huge amounts of slime, composed of thin, but strong and stretchy fibres.

9. This slime allows them to escape potential predators, and consists of a filamentous protein that is highly hydrophilic.

10. Hagfish are usually not eaten. However, the inshore hagfish is valued as food in the Korean Peninsula. The hagfish is kept alive and irritated by rattling its container with a stick, prompting it to produce slime in large quantities. This slime is used in a similar manner as egg whites in various forms of cookery in the region.