Researchers seeking to develop self-healing hydrogels have long sought to mimic the natural ability of mussels to generate strong, flexible threads underwater that allow the mussels to stick to rocks. The natural process that gives these mussel threads, which are called byssal, the ability to break apart and re-form is a purely chemical process, not a biological one, MIT graduate student Seth Cazzell noted in a presentation to the Materials Research Society fall meeting in Boston on Dec. 5.