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A fish attaching itself to another living organism may not seem particularly surprising at first. But when that attachment takes place underwater, on a moving, soft and constantly deforming surface, the problem suddenly becomes an engineering challenge. That is exactly what caught the researchers’ attention.

Remora fish can attach themselves to sharks, whales, turtles and other marine animals, as well as boats and even divers. They can do this underwater, on moving and soft surfaces. By studying the principles behind this natural mechanism, researchers developed a new mechanical adhesion system.

Called MUSAS (Mechanical Underwater Soft Adhesion System), the system is a striking example of how engineering solutions inspired by nature can be applied across very different fields.

How does the remora attach itself?

The remora has a special suction-cup-like adhesion disc on its head, which evolved from its first dorsal fin. But this structure is much more complex than a simple suction cup.

Inside the disc are independently functioning compartments, plate-like structures called lamellae, and very small tooth-like structures called spinules on their surfaces. When the remora attaches itself to a soft surface, these structures work together to create multiple points of contact with the surface.

The researchers’ study shows that the remora’s adhesion mechanism does not rely solely on suction. As the structures inside the disc move, water is removed from between the disc and the surface, while the lamellae and spinules provide mechanical interlocking.

In other words, two different mechanisms work together: suction-like adhesion and mechanical attachment.

This is important for understanding how remoras can remain attached to moving and deformable surfaces.

Rather than simply copying the remora’s adhesion disc, the researchers sought to identify the fundamental principles behind its mechanism. This is one of the important characteristics of biomimetic design.

The goal is not to reproduce a structure found in nature exactly, but to understand how nature solves a particular problem and adapt that principle to a different technology.

Based on these studies, MUSAS was designed to attach to soft and moving surfaces underwater. The system consists of a soft elastomeric structure, a stainless-steel backbone and lamellae made from a shape-memory alloy. These shape-memory alloy lamellae mimic the mechanical interlocking movement that occurs when the remora attaches to a surface.

In other words, researchers have translated a solution developed through millions of years of biological evolution into an engineering system.

Why is underwater adhesion important?

Underwater adhesion is a much more difficult problem than it may initially seem. Many conventional adhesives are developed to work on dry and relatively rigid surfaces. Underwater, however, surfaces can move continuously and deform, while water can remain between the surface and the point of adhesion. The challenge becomes even more complex when living tissues are involved.

One of the notable features of MUSAS is its ability to attach to soft surfaces with different levels of hardness and roughness and to maintain its performance under varying environmental conditions. The researchers demonstrated that the system can generate an adhesion force many times greater than its own weight.

Another interesting aspect of the study is that the system was not designed solely for underwater research. Its potential applications in healthcare technologies are also being investigated.

The researchers tested the system as a platform capable of attaching within the gastrointestinal tract. This approach could potentially enable applications such as positioning sensors at specific locations in the gastrointestinal system, monitoring gastroesophageal reflux, and delivering drugs over extended periods.

The study also investigated potential applications such as mRNA delivery through the gastrointestinal system and long-acting drug delivery.

Underwater, MUSAS was also integrated with small temperature sensors to monitor the body temperature of fish while they were moving.

The fact that a single adhesion mechanism can be applied to such different fields, from healthcare technologies to marine research, is one of the most striking aspects of the study.

The real innovation lies in the way we look at nature

Perhaps the most inspiring aspect of this study comes before the device itself.

Researchers did not look only at existing engineering solutions when developing a new adhesion technology. They tried to understand a mechanism that was already working in nature.

The remora has been attaching itself to moving surfaces underwater for millions of years.

The engineers simply asked:

“How does it do that?”

They then investigated the answer through anatomical studies, physical analysis, computer simulations and experiments. The result was not an exact copy of the structure found in nature, but a new engineering system inspired by it.

There is an important lesson here for innovation.

Developing a new technology does not always mean inventing something more complex. Sometimes it is enough to recognize a problem that nature has already solved, understand the principle behind that solution and adapt it to a different need.

Nature is still an important source of technology

This is one of the reasons why biomimetic approaches continue to attract interest across different engineering fields.

Nature has to use energy and resources efficiently. Over millions of years of evolution, the structures and behaviors of living organisms have produced countless solutions to very different problems.

In the case of the remora, we encounter a relatively simple question:

How do you attach to a moving, soft surface underwater?

The answer is hidden in the anatomy of a fish.

The MUSAS study demonstrates that nature-inspired technologies are not merely interesting ideas. With the right research and engineering, they can be transformed into real applications in healthcare, marine research and sensor technologies.

Perhaps we will continue to look not only in laboratories, but also in nature itself, for some of the adhesion technologies of the future.

Because sometimes, the best way to develop a new solution is to first look at how nature has already solved the same problem.

A perspective from Bayel: What does this mean for water sports equipment?

When we at Bayel read this research, our commercial perspective immediately led us to think about adhesives used in water sports equipment.

Surfboards, diving equipment, swimming equipment, inflatable SUPs and boats, underwater cameras, sensors, waterproof electronic equipment, and textile-based products such as neoprene...

Each of these types of equipment may require different materials to work together. Moreover, these connections are exposed not only to water, but also to challenging conditions such as movement, vibration, pressure, temperature changes, salt water, and repeated wetting and drying.

This brings us to a seemingly simple but actually important question:

Can an adhesive solution that performs well in dry conditions deliver the same performance underwater or in a moving system that is continuously exposed to water?

In fact, this is one of the fundamental challenges faced by adhesives used in water sports equipment. Simply bonding two surfaces together is not enough. The connection must remain reliable as the operating conditions of the equipment change.

For example, joining different materials in a surfboard, maintaining watertightness in diving equipment, or ensuring that the connection points of an inflatable SUP continue to perform under pressure all demonstrate that we expect more from adhesive technologies than simply high initial adhesion performance.

The connection needs to withstand water, movement and environmental conditions.

This is where the MUSAS research, inspired by the remora fish, offers a different perspective.

Of course, this does not mean that MUSAS can be used in water sports equipment today. However, the research raises an interesting possibility:

Will future connection solutions for underwater equipment consist only of stronger adhesives, or will new systems emerge that combine different principles such as adhesion, mechanical attachment and surface conformity?

Perhaps this is the more interesting question.

As water sports equipment evolves, the conditions to which these products are exposed also demand greater performance. This creates new questions—and therefore new areas for innovation—in adhesion technology.

The story of the remora reminds us of something important:

To develop the technologies of the future, we need to look not only into the laboratory, but also to nature.

https://news.mit.edu/2025/hitchhiking-sucker-fish-inspired-adhesive-sticks-soft-surfaces-underwater-0723
https://chemmedia.com.tr/dergi-detay.php?slug=adhesives#reader