IC People of Progress

Talk about getting slimy—in a good way. IC biology professor Andy Smith brought his research on slug secretions to the game show podcast Tell Me Something I Don’t Know. The gooey education impressed the hosts, and Andy was voted the show’s winner, earning him a “certificate of impressive knowledge.”

Hosted by Freakonomics author and Freakonomics Radio host Stephen Dubner, Tell Me Something I Don’t Know is a journalistic game show where guest presenters try to impress Dubner and his cohosts with fascinating facts or research. The audience then votes on the winner based on the novelty, usefulness, and truthfulness of what was presented. The theme of the episode was “all about bugs (of the animal and computer varieties).”

Andy presented his research on the slug species Arion subfuscus, which secretes a gel that quickly hardens into a flexible adhesive. His research has played a key role in the development of a new synthetic adhesive that could replace stitches and staples in medical procedures.

“It works spectacularly well,” Andy told Dubner and cohost John McWhorter, an associate professor at Columbia University.

As captivated as they were by the medical implications of Andy’s research, Dubner and his cohost couldn’t resist asking the professor if he had ever tried eating one of his specimens.

“Not a slug, no, I’ve never been tempted,” Andy demurred. “Snails are delicious.”