As strong as an insect’s shell
Harvard researchers at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering have come up with a tough, low-cost, biodegradable material inspired by insects’ hard outer shells. The material’s inventors say it has a host of possible applications and someday could provide a more environmentally friendly alternative to plastic. The material, made from discarded shrimp shells and proteins derived from silk, is called “shrilk.” It is thin, clear, flexible, and hard as aluminum at half the weight, according to postdoctoral fellow Javier Fernandez, who began work on the material as a doctoral student at the University of Barcelona and perfected it during a year-and-a-half stint working at the Wyss Institute with Director Donald Ingber. Ingber, the Judah Folkman Professor of Vascular Biology at Harvard Medical School and Harvard-affiliated Children’s Hospital and professor of bioengineering at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, said companies have already expressed interest in the material, particularly for...