In 2015, it was found that the strongest known biologically occurring material, was possessed by limpets, a marine mollusk that has a shallow conical shell, often found attached to rocks.
These small aquatic-snail-like mollusks use a tongue bristling with tiny microscopic teeth to scrape food off rocks and into their mouths. These teeth contain a hard yet flexible composite, found to be far stronger than spider silk and comparable to man-made substances, including carbon fiber and Kevlar.
Scientists have now 'successfully mimicked' limpet tooth formation in a laboratory and used it to create a new composite biomaterial. The study, published in the journal Nature Communications, suggests that the material could be upscaled into something super strong - that could rival the strength and flexibility of synthetics, but be disposed of without generating harmful waste products.
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