Strong thread-like filaments that certain shellfish, especially mussels, produce to attach themselves to rocks and other surfaces underwater.
From Latin 'byssus,' which came from Greek 'βύσσος' (byssos), meaning fine linen or fabric, later applied to the mussel's attachment threads because of their fiber-like appearance.
Byssus threads are stronger than steel cables when compared pound for pound, which is why scientists are studying mussels to create new super-strong materials—nature's most brilliant adhesive was hiding in your seafood dinner the whole time.
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