Protective shell of sea-dwelling chiton paves way towards new materials that combine different functions
Thursday, November 19, 2015 - 14:10
in Physics & Chemistry
Multifunctional materials with sensory capabilities like those of vision, touch or even smell could profoundly expand the possibilities of industrial design in many areas. Taking a cue from nature, a cross-institutional collaboration involving researchers from the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University and MIT has deciphered how the biomineral making up the body armor of a chiton mollusk has evolved to create functional eyes embedded in the animal's protective shell. The findings could help determine so far still elusive rules for generating man-made multifunctional materials and are reported in the November 20 issue of Science.