0:00:02 > 0:00:03Animals are amazing.
0:00:03 > 0:00:05That's astonishing!
0:00:05 > 0:00:09And the more we find out about them, the more amazing they seem.
0:00:10 > 0:00:13That's why scientists all over the world
0:00:13 > 0:00:16are trying their best to copy them.
0:00:17 > 0:00:20'Making brand-new inventions...' Tomato juice.
0:00:20 > 0:00:23..based on what animals can do.
0:00:23 > 0:00:24PHONE RINGS
0:00:24 > 0:00:27'Some are astounding.' We have just dived under the sea!
0:00:27 > 0:00:28'Some, bizarre.'
0:00:28 > 0:00:30This is not at all pleasant.
0:00:32 > 0:00:33Yes! It's gone!
0:00:34 > 0:00:37But they are all inspired by the miracles of nature.
0:00:41 > 0:00:42Episode Ten.
0:00:43 > 0:00:48How scientists have found the next best thing to a spider's web...
0:00:48 > 0:00:50under the sea.
0:00:52 > 0:00:55Spider silk is an amazing material.
0:00:55 > 0:01:00It is so light, that a strand long enough to circle the planet
0:01:00 > 0:01:02would weigh less than 1kg.
0:01:02 > 0:01:06but it is strong enough to stop a fly...
0:01:06 > 0:01:08in full flight.
0:01:08 > 0:01:10It is a remarkable material.
0:01:11 > 0:01:15One we have been trying to copy for the best part of 50 years.
0:01:16 > 0:01:22Because a material this light and this strong would be really useful.
0:01:22 > 0:01:24But we have still not managed it
0:01:24 > 0:01:27and real silk is just too tricky to collect.
0:01:30 > 0:01:33But now, scientists have found another natural substance
0:01:33 > 0:01:37that might just be able to rival spider silk.
0:01:39 > 0:01:42The real surprise is where they have found it.
0:01:45 > 0:01:47Somewhere out here.
0:01:53 > 0:01:56Eddie, I'd be no good at this, I can't see it.
0:01:56 > 0:01:58Well, it's around here somewhere.
0:01:58 > 0:02:02'Luckily, I've got marine biologist Eddie Kisfaludy along to help.
0:02:02 > 0:02:05'Once we can get past the language barrier.'
0:02:05 > 0:02:07- You call them "boo-ees." - They are boo-ees.- It's a buoy.
0:02:07 > 0:02:10- It's buoys?- Yeah. - No, "boys" is like a little kid.
0:02:10 > 0:02:12- No, it's not a boo-ee. - This is a boo-ee.
0:02:12 > 0:02:14These are several boo-ees, in fact.
0:02:15 > 0:02:19- Ah, there it is. Good work.- You see? I got it!
0:02:21 > 0:02:24Ah-ha! I got it, I got it, I got it!
0:02:24 > 0:02:29'Now, if you are remotely squeamish, you might want to look away.
0:02:29 > 0:02:32'Because what's at the bottom of this rope
0:02:32 > 0:02:35'isn't immediately appealing.'
0:02:36 > 0:02:37So these are them!
0:02:39 > 0:02:40Not pretty, are they?
0:02:40 > 0:02:43No, they're disgustingly ugly, to be quite honest.
0:02:43 > 0:02:45These are hagfish.
0:02:48 > 0:02:50Not really fish, they're more like eels.
0:02:50 > 0:02:53- Yeah. - They don't have any scales or fins.
0:02:53 > 0:02:56They don't have any eyes to speak of,
0:02:56 > 0:02:58so they have to make a living
0:02:58 > 0:03:00by feeling and smelling their way around on the deep sea.
0:03:00 > 0:03:04It's almost like a snake that crawls around on the sea floor.
0:03:04 > 0:03:07'I don't know, it's probably just the rocking,
0:03:07 > 0:03:10'but I am suddenly feeling just a little bit queasy.
0:03:10 > 0:03:12'Mainly because I know what's going to happen
0:03:12 > 0:03:15'when we get them back to shore.'
0:03:17 > 0:03:19Now, the thing is,
0:03:19 > 0:03:22it's actually quite easy to persuade a spider to make silk for you.
0:03:22 > 0:03:24I've done it, in fact.
0:03:24 > 0:03:28But you would not believe the bother we're going to have to go to
0:03:28 > 0:03:31to get hagfish to do something similar.
0:03:31 > 0:03:34First of all, we have to fill that purpose-built tank
0:03:34 > 0:03:36with 400 gallons of water.
0:03:36 > 0:03:40Then we add to it the 150 hagfish that Eddie and I caught.
0:03:40 > 0:03:43Then we need something with them to stir them,
0:03:43 > 0:03:48something in the tank to stir them up and provoke a stir. It's...
0:03:48 > 0:03:50it's me.
0:03:50 > 0:03:51I am the stirrer.
0:03:51 > 0:03:53In there...
0:03:53 > 0:03:55with the hagfish.
0:03:55 > 0:03:57I just...is this really necessary?
0:03:57 > 0:04:02Unfortunately, Eddie assures me that it is.
0:04:02 > 0:04:06And he's wasting no time in getting our experiment ready.
0:04:09 > 0:04:15This might look like a very big tank for 150 small fish.
0:04:15 > 0:04:21But apparently, what they're going to do requires quite a bit of room.
0:04:24 > 0:04:30'Eddie's idea is that I play the part of a big, aggressive predator.
0:04:30 > 0:04:32'And the hagfish are my frightened prey.'
0:04:36 > 0:04:39'But I have a feeling that the hagfish are not the only ones
0:04:39 > 0:04:41'who are going to be frightened.'
0:04:47 > 0:04:51'Especially when I see how Eddie intends getting me in there.'
0:05:08 > 0:05:11You know how people have those bucket lists
0:05:11 > 0:05:14of things you should do before you die?
0:05:14 > 0:05:16This was never on mine.
0:05:17 > 0:05:18Eurgh!
0:05:21 > 0:05:24'Now, if you thought the hagfish's looks were bad,
0:05:24 > 0:05:28'just wait till you see what their party trick is.'
0:05:28 > 0:05:29Ooh!
0:05:30 > 0:05:34'Because hagfish have the power to slime.
0:05:35 > 0:05:37'Big time.' That's disgusting!
0:05:37 > 0:05:39I'm not hurting any of these fish.
0:05:39 > 0:05:41I am just alarming them.
0:05:42 > 0:05:43Ohh!
0:05:44 > 0:05:47This is their natural, in-built response.
0:05:49 > 0:05:52You see, he thinks I'm a predator after him,
0:05:52 > 0:05:57so rather than bite or swim away, he just sends out a tonne of slime.
0:05:59 > 0:06:03'The point of it is that that slime would instantly clog up
0:06:03 > 0:06:05'the mouth of any fish coming in for a nibble.'
0:06:06 > 0:06:07I mean, they don't bite.
0:06:07 > 0:06:09Well, I don't think they bite.
0:06:10 > 0:06:13I've just persuaded one of these guys to come and say hello,
0:06:13 > 0:06:15and actually... if you look, you can see...
0:06:15 > 0:06:18along the side, these tiny, white holes,
0:06:18 > 0:06:20they look a bit like mouth ulcers, actually.
0:06:20 > 0:06:24And that's where it makes the slime to protect itself.
0:06:24 > 0:06:28'And you can see now why we needed such a big tank.'
0:06:30 > 0:06:34Apparently, just one of these fish can make enough slime
0:06:34 > 0:06:36to fill a bucket of water in seconds.
0:06:36 > 0:06:39So they produce a lot of this stuff.
0:06:39 > 0:06:42Just to make sure they don't get eaten by something else.
0:06:42 > 0:06:45I mean, it would put me off, to be fair.
0:06:45 > 0:06:46I'm not hungry.
0:06:47 > 0:06:50This is a lot of slime in here, now.
0:06:51 > 0:06:53Ohh!
0:06:54 > 0:06:56Now, this might look pretty disgusting,
0:06:56 > 0:06:58and to be fair, in fact, it is,
0:06:58 > 0:07:00but there's a good reason why we're doing this,
0:07:00 > 0:07:02not just to have a laugh at my expense,
0:07:02 > 0:07:04cos it's about the slime,
0:07:04 > 0:07:08and it's about what the slime is actually capable of.
0:07:08 > 0:07:09It's probably time I got out now.
0:07:09 > 0:07:11Yeah.
0:07:11 > 0:07:12Let's get me out of here.
0:07:12 > 0:07:15It's...ohh!
0:07:15 > 0:07:16Oh, this is...not at all...
0:07:16 > 0:07:18pleasant.
0:07:19 > 0:07:22It's not nice.
0:07:22 > 0:07:25However, this stuff, disgusting as it is,
0:07:25 > 0:07:27is quite fascinating.
0:07:28 > 0:07:30'I know it doesn't look much like spider silk,
0:07:30 > 0:07:34'or feel like it...'
0:07:34 > 0:07:35Ohh!
0:07:35 > 0:07:38'But that's because I haven't finished with it yet.
0:07:39 > 0:07:42'To turn this into something that can compete with spider silk,
0:07:42 > 0:07:46'I need to put it on my special hagfish slime hanger.'
0:07:50 > 0:07:53And now, I think, a shower.
0:07:54 > 0:07:58'Leaving my hagfish slime to dry out overnight.'
0:08:08 > 0:08:09Now, this might not look like it,
0:08:09 > 0:08:13but this in fact is the hagfish slime that I harvested yesterday.
0:08:13 > 0:08:16Overnight, the sea water has drained away and evaporated,
0:08:16 > 0:08:17and it's dried.
0:08:17 > 0:08:22So I think a scientific test is called for right here, right now.
0:08:22 > 0:08:24'With some fishing weights from Eddie's boat.'
0:08:24 > 0:08:26There's a 5oz one.
0:08:27 > 0:08:29I'm hanging it on.
0:08:29 > 0:08:31'That's about 150g.'
0:08:34 > 0:08:3510oz.
0:08:35 > 0:08:37'300g.'
0:08:38 > 0:08:40OK, that's pretty good.
0:08:40 > 0:08:42Right, I'm going to go for a heavier weight. Let's see.
0:08:44 > 0:08:46'400g.'
0:08:49 > 0:08:5016oz.
0:08:50 > 0:08:51'450g.'
0:08:53 > 0:08:55OK, so now we're on...
0:08:55 > 0:08:5740. '1,100g. More than a bag of flour.'
0:08:59 > 0:09:0145...
0:09:03 > 0:09:05'And we're up near spider silk territory.'
0:09:07 > 0:09:1055 ounces, and I've run out of weights.
0:09:10 > 0:09:14OK, it's not the most scientifically rigorous of tests,
0:09:14 > 0:09:15and it may be a while yet
0:09:15 > 0:09:18before you pull on your brand-new hagfish sweater,
0:09:18 > 0:09:19but the fact is,
0:09:19 > 0:09:22this could be really useful.
0:09:22 > 0:09:25Because one day hagfish slime could be used to make
0:09:25 > 0:09:29everything we once wanted to make spider silk.
0:09:31 > 0:09:35Finding a kind of spider silk under the sea.
0:09:36 > 0:09:41If that's not one of the miracles of nature, I'd like to know what is.