adhesion

"Catch bonds play critical roles in systems like T-cell receptors and bacterial adhesions, which are key to immune responses, tissue integrity and mechano-sensing -- a cell's ability to detect and respond to physical forces," says Yang.

What's most exciting is our paper highlights the intriguing possibility that repurposing currently available cancer drugs that stabilize focal adhesions might represent a way to restore mechanical integrity at synapses.

The layers exhibited strong adhesion under mechanical stress, making these findings crucial for improving material durability in fusion reactors and high-temperature energy systems.

It said low adhesion would be an area of ongoing investigation.

He says: “You have a steel wheel on a steel rail and anything that causes low adhesion can be a big problem.”