As a species, we’ve done a pretty good job at inventing some useful devices. But as clever as we think we are, given sufficient time, natural selection will beat us at our game at almost every turn.

The U.S. Army has a problem with Velcro. It’s too noisy. And its little loops get clogged with dust from the Afghan and Iraqi deserts. The so-called “hook-and-loop” fastener was added to standard ...

Researchers in Germany have created a new type of fastener system made from steel that may be useful in a range of settings, including hospitals and the aviation industry. Borrowing its design from ...

A new material called Metaklett is like hook-and-loop (“Velcro”) made out of steel and much scarier. One side of the material bristles with sharp spikes and the other side has jagged steel brushes.