Scientists have been able to pinpoint the source of geckos' ability to quickly scale solid, vertical surfaces with great agility.

According to Live Science, authors of a study published in the Journal of Applied Physics discovered that geckos can retract tiny, sticky hairs on their toes. The team from Oregon State University (OSU) noted that the tiny lizard's secret has been long sought after in the scientific community.

Researchers have sought to apply the astonishing stickiness to everyday life, such as a way to seal wounds, help soldiers mimic geckoes and develop a wide array of adhesives. Geckos have proven that their microscopic setae are far more effective than anything developed in a lab.

"Since the time of the ancient Greeks, people have wondered how geckos are able to stick to walls - even Archimedes is known to have pondered this problem," study lead author Alex Greaney, an assistant professor of engineering at OSU, said in a press release. "It was only very recently, in 2000, that Kellar Autumn and colleagues proved unequivocally that geckos stick using van der Waals forces."

Such a physical reaction occurs when the electrons in the setae on geckos' toes forms an electromagnetic bond with the electrons in the walls' molecules.

"A gecko by definition is not sticky - he has to do something to make himself sticky," Greaney told Live Science. "It's this incredible synergy of the flexibility, angle and extensibility of the hairs that makes it possible."

He said "Mission Impossible sticky gloves" are not a realistic expectation for emulating geckos' setae. More likely, robots could be equipped with the extreme adhesive to help them navigate certain extreme environments.

"One of the really cool things that we've found is the way seta can absorb a large amount of energy, but also can recover it," Greaney said in the release. "Absorbing energy makes for a tough adhesive joint - for the gecko, it means it can catch itself after jumping or falling and also enables a gecko to rapidly dart off in different directions to avoid predation.

"We're also interested in exploring how this robust, but switchable behavior, has the collective behavior of seta in a hierarchical system."