A team of physical chemists at Wageningen University and Research, Maastricht University and EnzyTag BV, all in the Netherlands, has uncovered the physical chemistry behind the ticks' ability to adhere to the skin of its host. In their study, published in the journal Nature Chemistry, the group observed the evaporation of a drop of artificially synthesized amino acid similar to the kind produced in tick saliva to see if it would show phase separation.