Artists and scientists alike find inspiration in nature. But two recent scientific studies found inspiration in the same creature: the mantis shrimp. The creature’s incredibly tough materials and complex eyes inspired innovations that could lead to fracture-resistant biocomposites and highly advanced optical sensors.
Read MoreScientists have discovered that a brittle starfish has the capability to create a durable “tempered” ceramic material while underwater. Its process is similar to the creation of tempered glass, but without the heating and cooling process.
Read MoreResearchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology have taken inspiration from conch shells to develop a 3-D printing technique that can build composite materials with incredible toughness.
Read MoreResearchers at Brown University have taken a closer look at the orange puffball sea sponge’s silica spicules and found that they, too, have evolved a precisely engineered design that provides the structures with maximal strength.
Read MoreResearchers at the University of Manchester in the U.K. have devised a strategy that gives new use to diatom shells, using the silica shells as scaffolds for building atomic sheets of molybdenum disulfide.
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