You may be pleased to hear that a genetically engineered breed of hake fish are now playing an important role in the American Space programme. Hake sputum was identified a number of years ago as a potential solution to the difficulties encountered with using the regular UHU adhesive to attach the heat-resistant tiling to the nose-cone of the space shuttle. Five years of intensive research and $10bn later, NASA scientists successfully engineered a breed of Hake whose sputum was stable enough to withstand re-entry temperatures of up to 8,000 degrees. Well done, NASA, and thank you, hake.

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