Question: how can a whole career be based on the feet of tree frogs?

Niall Crawford answered on 10 Mar 2013:

It might not be what I do for all of my career, but it is what I’m working on just now for my PhD (3 years long)

The reason that tree frogs feet are so “interesting”, is because they have a special design which lets them climb up walls, even if they are perfectly smooth. The frogs in my lab regularly climb their enclosure walls, which are made of smooth plastic. So, that’s pretty cool, and if we can understand how they can do it, then it might be something that humans can copy to make cool inventions. Obviously, things like insects can also climb, but frogs are generally much bigger and also heavier, so it makes their abilities all he cooler!