How eel-like hagfish deploy their exploding slime to choke attackers Jan 16, 2019 11:30 am by NewsweekIllinois in the News Share on Facebook Tweet Email Images Newsweek (Jan. 15) Hagfish slime expands by a factor of 10,000, becoming a mass that clogs the gills of predators. An Illinois grad student is leading researchers who've started to figure out how the slime unravels Share on Facebook Tweet Email