Tiny tenacity

I've been reading about ivy, the way it clings on to any surface. 
Its climbing tendrils are actually aerial roots, not stems, and they produce these additional mini-rootlets arranged to maximise contact with the underlying surface and stick to it  like glue. 
Actually, with glue. Charles Darwin, ever the investigator,  experimented with growing ivy and  noticed a yellow substance secreted by the roots but it's only recently been identified. 
'The glue’s secret ingredients are tiny balls of sugar-coated proteins. These nanoparticles are highly uniform, allowing them to spread out and work their way into nooks and crannies of surfaces. Once the adhesive’s water evaporates, the nanoballs concentrate, and with the help of other materials, including calcium and pectin, the glue hardens.'
Furthermore, at this point the root hairs dry and twist so as to lock on to the attachment point. Which is why, even when the ivy is dead, its grip won't ever loosen. 
Mimicking ivy's mechanism of adhesion could offer possibilities to bio-engineering such as in building artificial organs. Which is worth remembering when we curse ivy's obstinate tenacity.