Blog: Always a place to look for new ways to soak you, Las Vegas now has weight sensors in the fridges.

Biomedical engineers have married the gecko's adhesive ability with that of an animal well known for its sticking power underwater: the mussel. Combining the important elements of gecko and mussel adhesion, the new adhesive material, called "geckel," functions like a sticky note and exhibits strong yet reversible adhesion in both air and water. The findings could lead to applications in medical, industrial, consumer and military settings.

In an attempt to gain a better understanding of human economic behavior, a group of economists studied the buying patterns of eBay auctions. What they found was that humans are not always rational, at least in the econ 101 sense of the word. One of their most surprising realizations was that bidders would often pay a higher price than the "Buy it Now" price, presumably because they got so caught up in the heat of the auction. This is an odd quirk, though its discovery was hardly needed to demonstrate that humans don't always operate in a purely rational manner. Another thing they discovered was that bidders didn't pay much attention to shipping prices, and that they'll typically opt for an item that can be won for less, even when shipping costs eat up any savings. Ultimately, there's more to auctions than simple price discovery. Not only are they successful because they help arrive at an equilibrium price for goods, but participation in them makes for a fun, game-like experience. Thus, it shouldn't be a surprise that those involved don't always shining examples of homo economicus.