All Articles Tagged As: materials

Strength is shore thing for sea shell scientists (3/9/2010)

Scientists have made synthetic 'sea shells' from a mixture of chalk and polystyrene cups -- and produced a tough new material that could make our homes and offices more durable. ...> Full Article

Unusual snail shell could be a model for better armor (1/19/2010)

New insights about a tiny snail that lives on the ocean floor could help scientists design better armor for soldiers and vehicles, according to MIT researchers. ...> Full Article

Dental delight: Tooth of sea urchin shows formation of biominerals (12/23/2009)

Some of the most common minerals in biology, including those in bones and shells, have a mysterious structure: Their crystals are positioned in the same orientation, making them behave as one giant crystal, even though they do not look like a faceted crystal. ...> Full Article

Copying mother nature's designs (12/12/2009)

David Bocian of the University of California, Riverside will receive more than $1 million over five years as a co-investigator in the Photosynthetic Antenna Research Center, to be headquartered at Washington University in St. Louis, Mo. The center seeks to better understand natural photosynthetic systems and design more durable human-made compounds for capturing light. ...> Full Article

Tough yet stiff deer antler is materials scientist's dream (11/30/2009)

John Currey from York University explains that it is almost impossible to make materials that are tough yet stiff: stiff materials tend to break easily and cannot absorb impacts. But not so dry deer antlers. Surviving impacts that are six times greater than crashes that shatter wet femur, deer antler is stiff enough to endure the dueling animals' pushing contests and could teach us how to make stiff, yet tough, materials. ...> Full Article

The cause behind the characteristic shape of a long leaf revealed (11/28/2009)

Applied mathematicians dissected the morphology of the plantain lily, a characteristic long leaf with a saddle-like arc midsection and closely packed ripples along the edges. The simple cause of the lily's fan-like shape -- elastic relaxation resulting from bending during differential growth -- was revealed by using an equally simple technique, stretching foam ribbons. ...> Full Article

Mushrooms, water-repellants more similar than you might think (10/29/2009)

The same phenomenon that occurs when it's time for certain mushrooms to eject spores also occurs when dew droplets skitter across a surface that is highly water repellant. ...> Full Article

Clemson research nets $2 million from NSF to mimic nature's probes (9/2/2009)

The National Science Foundation has awarded Clemson University researchers $2 million to study ways to mimic the suction mechanism used by butterflies and moths to feed so that the same method can be used in medical diagnostics. The research will help develop a new class of fiber-based devices capable of probing and transporting previously impossible-to-reach liquids, such as those drawn from a single cell or tissue. ...> Full Article

The invasive green mussel may inspire new forms of wet adhesion (9/1/2009)

The green mussel is known for being a notoriously invasive fouling species, but scientists have just discovered that it also has a very powerful form of adhesion in its foot, according to a recent article in the Journal of Biological Chemistry. The stickiness of the mussel's foot could possibly be copied to form new man-made adhesives. ...> Full Article

Flying by the skin of our teeth (8/21/2009)

Tel Aviv University says that teeth give us clues for building lighter airplanes and space vehicles ...> Full Article

What scientists know about jewel beetle shimmer (7/24/2009)

Iridescent green beetles could provide blueprint for light-reflecting materials ...> Full Article

Nanotechnology may increase longevity of dental fillings (7/3/2009)

Tooth-colored fillings may be more attractive than silver ones, but the bonds between the white filling and the tooth quickly age and degrade. A Medical College of Georgia researcher hopes a new nanotechnology technique will extend the fillings' longevity. ...> Full Article

Crustacean shell with polyester creates mixed-fiber material for nerve repair (6/17/2009)

Weaving chitosan, found in the shells of crabs and shrimp, with an industrial polyester creates a promising new material for biomedical applications, including the tiny tubes that support repair of a severed nerve. ...> Full Article

Bird feathers produce color through structure similar to beer foam (4/4/2009)

Some of the brightest colors in nature are created by tiny nanostructures with a structure similar to beer foam or a sponge, according to Yale University researchers. ...> Full Article

First high-resolution images of bone, tooth and shell formation (3/13/2009)

Researchers at Eindhoven University of Technology have for the first time made high-resolution images of the earliest stages of bone formation. They used the world's most advanced electron microscope to make three-dimensional images of the nano-particles at the heart of the process. The results provide improved understanding of bone, tooth and shell formation. For industrial applications, they promise better materials and processes based on nature itself. The findings form the cover story of Science magazine of Friday, March 13. ...> Full Article

Crab claws pack strengthening bromide-rich biomaterial (2/26/2009)

University of Oregon-led study is part of effort to tap nature's secrets for building tiny tools ...> Full Article

A research work on molluscs nacre opens new doors for its possible use in biomedicine (2/13/2009)

Scientists from the University of Granada, Spanish National Research Council and the University of Aveiro have studied nacre's growing mechanism of gastropods, a previous step for the artificial reproduction of this material in laboratories which could make possible its use in biomedicine. Although molluscs have been producing nacre for million years, men had not been able to reproduce it artificially. One of its possible applications would be the regeneration of human bones ...> Full Article

Scientists create tough ceramic that mimics mother of pearl (12/6/2008)

Biomimicry -- technological innovation inspired by nature -- is one of the hottest ideas in science but has yet to yield many practical advances. Time for a change. Scientists with the US Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have mimicked the structure of mother of pearl to create what may well be the toughest ceramic ever produced. ...> Full Article

Sea urchin yields a key secret of biomineralization (10/29/2008)

The teeth and bones of mammals, the protective shells of mollusks, and the needle-sharp spines of sea urchins and other marine creatures are made-from-scratch wonders of nature. ...> Full Article

So-called 'sandfish' could help materials handling and process technology specialists (10/6/2008)

African lizard is inspiring materials scientists on new ways to design ultra-efficient non-resistant surfaces ...> Full Article

New gecko-like adhesive shakes off dirt (9/12/2008)

Researchers create first adhesive that cleans itself after each use without the need for water or chemicals, much like the remarkable hairs found on the gecko lizard's toes. ...> Full Article

Trees Can Inspire Smart Materials (7/18/2008)

Nature's branching patterns are most efficient way to flow ...> Full Article

Self-moisturizing contact lenses, naturally (7/9/2008)

Even contact lenses are joining the trend to go green ...> Full Article

The Photonic Beetle: Nature Builds Diamond-like Crystals for Future Optical Computers (5/21/2008)

Researchers have been unable to build an ideal "photonic crystal" to manipulate visible light, impeding the dream of ultrafast optical computers. But now, University of Utah chemists have discovered that nature already has designed photonic crystals with the ideal, diamond-like structure: They are found in the shimmering, iridescent green scales of a beetle from Brazil. ...> Full Article

Self-repairing aircraft could revolutionise aviation safety (5/20/2008)

A new technique that mimics healing processes found in nature could enable damaged aircraft to mend themselves automatically, even during a flight. ...> Full Article

Scientists find that squid beak is both hard and soft, a material that engineers want to copy (3/28/2008)

How did nature make the squid's beak super hard and sharp -- allowing it, without harm to its soft body -- to capture its prey? ...> Full Article

Shell shock (3/15/2008)

An MIT materials scientist's research on sea snails has helped transform battery technology and may end the era when cell phones die if they're dropped and PDAs must be replaced if they get dunked in the tub. ...> Full Article