Biomimicry
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Nature inspired innovation
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Glass Sponges Hold Internal Secrets to Structural Strength

Glass Sponges Hold Internal Secrets to Structural Strength | Biomimicry | Scoop.it

"Scientists often look to biology for inspiration and innovation, emulating the way that nature builds to advance human engineering. Creatures of the ocean's depths are some of the most mysterious and fascinating subjects for study, due to the challenges of collecting them from very deep waters and for their unique adaptations for colonizing the sea floor. One such group is the hexactinellids, a collection of predominantly deep-sea sponges that produce elaborate skeletal systems of glass. Known as glass sponges, over the years their skeletal systems and their constituent elements (called spicules) have served as useful model systems for the design and fabrication of robust and damage tolerance."

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Mainz Scientists Create New Flexible Mineral Inspired by Deep-sea Sponges

Mainz Scientists Create New Flexible Mineral Inspired by Deep-sea Sponges | Biomimicry | Scoop.it

"Scientists at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) and the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research (MPI-P) in Germany have created a new synthetic hybrid material with a mineral content of almost 90 percent, yet extremely flexible. They imitated the structural elements found in most sea sponges and recreated the sponge spicules using the natural mineral calcium carbonate and a protein of the sponge."