[shadow1990]

I have to start this out saying that my knowledge of biology is very limitted.  However, I do understand most concepts of chemistry, so you can expect me to understand any chemical explanation.

I know that spiders and geckos stick to even completely flat surfaces because they have thoundands of tiny hairs on their feet which create an attraction to any material via the Van der Waals force.
Can someone explain to me the chemical compostion of the hairs, because I'm kinda vague on how one might simply create a Van der Waals attraction with an object.

Also, I noticed that spiders have a hard time climbing out of my marble sink.  Is this because of the composition of the marble, or does water have an adverse effect on Van der Waals in general?

[Bronwen Dekker]

It seems like the protein involved is keratin...

I think that you will find this interesting:
Secret of the sticky foot