{"id":14671,"date":"2021-03-08T10:28:45","date_gmt":"2021-03-08T15:28:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/coastwatch\/?page_id=14671"},"modified":"2024-09-04T10:44:38","modified_gmt":"2024-09-04T14:44:38","slug":"magic-at-64-4-degrees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/coastwatch\/magic-at-64-4-degrees\/","title":{"rendered":"Magic at 64.4 Degrees"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n
Diligence and hard-earned expertise contributed to a recent breakthrough that has positioned farmed striped bass for commercial success. And scientists behind the innovation say they couldn\u2019t have done it without another key ingredient: luck.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n When he was 34, the Swiss engineer George de Mestral set off with his dog into the alpine countryside on a hunting trip. After crossing flowering fields in the crisp, glacial air on his return, he discovered that burdock burs thoroughly covered his dog\u2019s coat. At home, he picked the persistent clingers from his pet\u2019s fur, one by one, marveling at their tenacity, so much so that he had to examine them under a microscope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What he saw under the lens would impact the aerospace and apparel industries, as astronauts, scuba divers, skiers \u2014 even toddlers too young to tie their own shoes \u2014 would come to use his invention. His microscope revealed hooks by the hundreds covering each bur. Thanks to that hunting trip with his dog, George de Mestral had discovered the mechanism for what he would call \u201cVelcro.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The worlds of invention and discovery have long relied on chance, even on sheer, dumb luck. From the detection of X-rays to that first accidental culture of penicillin, from Silly Putty to the Big Bang\u2019s cosmic signature, from insulin to Vulcanized rubber to Vaseline \u2014 benevolent happenstance has led to groundbreaking advances of all sorts.<\/p>\n\n\n