The sweat's unusual red coloring is due to red and orange pigments present in the secretion. Prior research demonstrated that molecules in these pigments are capable of absorbing ultraviolet light. While the substance may be one of nature's most perfect skin creations, it has caused many an onlooker to think that hippos were bleeding when they were really just "sweating" out the oily secretion. The findings are published in the latest issue of Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A. The researchers specialize in biomimicry, or learning lessons from nature that can be applied to man-made products and materials. They have also studied worm and spider silk along with filamentous phage, a type of virus that can infect bacteria. David Kaplan, chair of the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Tufts University School of Engineering, told Discovery News that the study's authors "have a terrific handle on novel functional materials that come out of nature." He added that Viney is one of the world's leading experts in this field. Kaplan's own department often works with natural materials, such as spider silk, because "nature has provided us with substances that have emerged after eons of evolution. There is so much invaluable data that has yet to be mined." Viney agrees. "As a student said to me several years ago, nature is full of solutions to our technical problems," he said. "We just have to figure out how to look in the right place, and ask the right questions." Related Links: Video: How to Collect Hippo Sweat |
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