PURPLE STAIN
ABALONE
Abalone shells are gleaming and shiny on the inside, thanks to layers of nacre, the same stuff that pearls are made of. Nacre is 95 per cent calcium carbonate – chalk, essentially – but try dropping an abalone shell and you’ll see it’s virtually shatterproof. This super strength comes down to nacre’s microscopic structure of diamond-shaped crystals stacked like bricks, with layers of chitin in between. Chitin is the same tough protein that makes insect exoskeletons and shrimp shells. If the outside of the shell gets damaged, the inner nacre layer stops cracks from growing bigger. The nacreous crystals slide over one another and the chitin stretches, dampening the energy of a spreading crack and halting it in its tracks.
Scientists from Canada’s McGill University recently mimicked the structure of nacre using glass flakes and acrylic to produce a transparent composite that’s three times stronger than normal glass and five times more resistant to fractures. Easy and cheap to make, this could be the ideal material for the next generation of smartphone screens that won’t smash no matter how hard they’re dropped, all inspired by nature’s nacre.
BUOYANCY AID
CHAMBERED NAUTILUS
This is the view inside the shell of a chambered nautilus that’s been sliced into two halves, left and right. When the nautilus was alive, each of those chambers was filled with gas, which turned the shell into a buoyancy device. The floaty shell helps a nautilus to hover in the water column and therefore save energy.
This story is from the May 2022 edition of BBC Science Focus.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the May 2022 edition of BBC Science Focus.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
5 SIMPLE WAYS TO RECLAIM YOUR ATTENTION
Primed for constant interruptions, your brain is now distracting itself, says science. It's time to break the cycle and retrain your focus
GOING ROGUE
Some planets are stuck following the same orbital paths their entire lives. Others break free to wander alone through the vast, empty darkness of interstellar space and there's a lot more of them than you might think
BED BUGS VS THE WORLD
When bloodthirsty bed bugs made headlines for infesting Paris Fashion Week in 2023, it shone a spotlight on a problem that's been making experts itch for decades: the arms race going on between bed bugs and humans. Now, with the 2024 Summer Olympics fast approaching, the stakes are higher than ever
THE EYES THAT WATCH THE SKY
When it launches in 2026, the Copernicus programme's Anthropogenic Carbon Dioxide Monitoring satellite will give us a new window on to Earth's atmosphere... And how we're altering it
TIME-RESTRICTED EATING LINKED TO HIGHER RISK OF CARDIOVASCULAR DEATH
Skipping breakfast might not be so good for your health, after all
INSIDE THE PROJECT TO SCAN THOUSANDS OF RARE SPECIMENS
A major collaborative project has created 3D reconstructions of previously locked away museum specimens
VIDEO IS FIRST EVIDENCE OF AN ORCA KILLING A GREAT WHITE
Tourists sailing off the South African coast film a never-before-seen event: a lone orca attacking a 2.5m shark
AI REVEALS PROSTATE CANCER IS NOT JUST ONE DISEASE
DNA analysis carried out by artificial intelligence has helped scientists make a discovery that could revolutionise future treatment
MYSTERIOUS WAVES DETECTED IN JUPITER'S CORE
Scientists hope unusual fluctuations in the gas giant's magnetic field might reveal what's inside
MINI ORGANS GROWN FROM UNBORN BABIES MARK A BREAKTHROUGH IN PRENATAL MEDICINE
A new technique could allow congenital conditions to be diagnosed and treated before birth