Navigation Links
Scientists find that squid beak is both hard and soft, a material that engineers want to copy
Date:3/27/2008

(Santa Barbara, Calif.) How did nature make the squids beak super hard and sharp allowing it, without harm to its soft body to capture its prey?

The question has captivated those interested in creating new materials that mimic biological materials. The results are published in this weeks issue of the journal Science.

The sharp beak of the Humboldt squid is one of the hardest and stiffest organic materials known. Engineers, biologists, and marine scientists at the University of California, Santa Barbara, have joined forces to discover how the soft, gelatinous squid can operate its knife-like beak without tearing itself to pieces.

UC Santa Barbara is a mecca for this type of interdisciplinary study, and draws scientists and engineers from all over the world to grapple with questions that cross a wide range of science and engineering disciplines.

The key to the squid beak lies in the gradations of stiffness. The tip is extremely stiff, yet the base is 100 times more compliant, allowing it to blend with surrounding tissue. However, this only works when the base of the beak is wet. After it dries out, the base becomes similarly stiff as the already desiccated beak tip.

Humboldt squids, or Dosidicus gigas, are about three feet wide and can injure a fish with one swift motion. According to the article, a squid beak can sever the nerve cord to paralyze prey for later leisurely dining.

Squids can be aggressive, whimsical, suddenly mean, and they are always hungry, said Herb Waite, co-author and professor of biology at UC Santa Barbara. You wouldnt want to be diving next to one. A dozen of them could eat you, or really hurt you a lot. The creatures are very fast and swim by jet propulsion.

Besides humans, squids main predator is the sperm whale, and these animals frequently show the scars of battle, with skin marred by the squids sharp suckers. Waite noted that squid muscle is available in loc
'/>"/>

Contact: Gail Gallessich
gail.g@ia.ucsb.edu
805-893-7220
University of California - Santa Barbara
Source:Eurekalert

0

GOOD

Page: 1 2 3

Related biology news :

1. Scientists launch first comprehensive database of human oral microbiome
2. NYU scientists set stage for understanding how color vision is processed
3. Scientists launch human oral microbiome database
4. Yale scientists show that a microRNA can reduce lung cancer growth
5. Texas A&M scientists say early Americans arrived earlier
6. Scientists find color vision system independent of motion detection
7. Crop scientists discover gene that controls fruit shape
8. Scientists discover how TB develops invincibility against only available treatment
9. Scientists show that streams are critical to preservation of oceanic coastal zones
10. Scientists to discover why flamingos are in the pink of health -- in the poo!
11. Scientists believe photograph depicts wolverine in California

Post Your Comments:
*Name:
*Comment:
*Email:
(Date:11/23/2009)...RE, Calif. - By producing some of the highest reso...faces, scientists have a deeper understanding how ...research may lead to a new treatment for kidney st...ppears in the Nov. 23 online edition of the journa... , explores how peptides interact with mineral sur...
(Date:11/23/2009)...MINGHAM, Ala. A new study by University of Alabam...mass index (BMI) and co-existing medical condition...ival observed among African-Americans compared to ...s published online Nov. 23 in Cancer , a journal ...dicates that although BMI and co-morbidity are ind...
(Date:11/23/2009)...GN, Ill. Two new studies reveal in unprecedented ...ules to assemble new proteins and guide them towar...es used molecular dynamics flexible fitting (MDFF)...wo prominent molecular partners. , The first st...iences , concerns the intimate signaling between t...
Breaking Biology News(10 mins):Scientists watch as peptides control crystal growth with 'switches, throttles and brakes' 2Scientists watch as peptides control crystal growth with 'switches, throttles and brakes' 3Racial disparity in colon cancer survival not easily explained, UAB researchers say 2Computational microscope peers into the working ribosome 2Computational microscope peers into the working ribosome 3Kensey Nash Announces Agreement to Acquire Rights to OsseoFit Product 13449 1Kensey Nash Announces Agreement to Acquire Rights to OsseoFit Product 13449 2Kensey Nash Announces Agreement to Acquire Rights to OsseoFit Product 13449 3Catalyst Pharmaceutical Partners Reports Second Quarter 2009 Financial Results 13447 1Catalyst Pharmaceutical Partners Reports Second Quarter 2009 Financial Results 13447 2Catalyst Pharmaceutical Partners Reports Second Quarter 2009 Financial Results 13447 3Catalyst Pharmaceutical Partners Reports Second Quarter 2009 Financial Results 13447 4Catalyst Pharmaceutical Partners Reports Second Quarter 2009 Financial Results 13447 5Catalyst Pharmaceutical Partners Reports Second Quarter 2009 Financial Results 13447 6Catalyst Pharmaceutical Partners Reports Second Quarter 2009 Financial Results 13447 7Warner Chilcott Reports Operating Results for the Quarter Ended June 30 2009 and Updates 2009 Full Year Guidance 53933 1Warner Chilcott Reports Operating Results for the Quarter Ended June 30 2009 and Updates 2009 Full Year Guidance 53933 2Warner Chilcott Reports Operating Results for the Quarter Ended June 30 2009 and Updates 2009 Full Year Guidance 53933 3Warner Chilcott Reports Operating Results for the Quarter Ended June 30 2009 and Updates 2009 Full Year Guidance 53933 4Warner Chilcott Reports Operating Results for the Quarter Ended June 30 2009 and Updates 2009 Full Year Guidance 53933 5Warner Chilcott Reports Operating Results for the Quarter Ended June 30 2009 and Updates 2009 Full Year Guidance 53933 6Warner Chilcott Reports Operating Results for the Quarter Ended June 30 2009 and Updates 2009 Full Year Guidance 53933 7Warner Chilcott Reports Operating Results for the Quarter Ended June 30 2009 and Updates 2009 Full Year Guidance 53933 8Warner Chilcott Reports Operating Results for the Quarter Ended June 30 2009 and Updates 2009 Full Year Guidance 53933 9Warner Chilcott Reports Operating Results for the Quarter Ended June 30 2009 and Updates 2009 Full Year Guidance 53933 10Warner Chilcott Reports Operating Results for the Quarter Ended June 30 2009 and Updates 2009 Full Year Guidance 53933 11Warner Chilcott Reports Operating Results for the Quarter Ended June 30 2009 and Updates 2009 Full Year Guidance 53933 12Warner Chilcott Reports Operating Results for the Quarter Ended June 30 2009 and Updates 2009 Full Year Guidance 53933 13Warner Chilcott Reports Operating Results for the Quarter Ended June 30 2009 and Updates 2009 Full Year Guidance 53933 14Warner Chilcott Reports Operating Results for the Quarter Ended June 30 2009 and Updates 2009 Full Year Guidance 53933 15Warner Chilcott Reports Operating Results for the Quarter Ended June 30 2009 and Updates 2009 Full Year Guidance 53933 16Warner Chilcott Reports Operating Results for the Quarter Ended June 30 2009 and Updates 2009 Full Year Guidance 53933 17Warner Chilcott Reports Operating Results for the Quarter Ended June 30 2009 and Updates 2009 Full Year Guidance 53933 18
...veal where a brain cell came from remain distinct ...rnational coalition of scientists will report in t...ding adds a new layer of complexity to the quest t..., according to senior author David H. Gutmann, M.D...f Neurology at Washington University School of Med...
...he risk of HIV transmission may be highest in the ...ublished in the April 1 issue of The Journal of In...ection accounted for nearly half of all transmissi...e province of Quebec, Canada. , Bluma Brenner, PhD...e in Montreal, and colleagues from several hospita...
...e noise, says a team of Rutgers-Camden professors ...he benefits of noise. Their findings could lead to...awei Hong, an assistant professor of computer scie...lliam Saidel, an associate professor of biology, a...fits of noise through mathematics. Although the Ru...
Other Biology News:Genetic fingerprints identify brain tumors' origins 2Risk of HIV transmission highest early in infection 2Noise echoes in cell communications 2
(Date:11/24/2009)...arbleEnergyCorp.announcedtodaythatthecompanyandthe...awarded$2millionbyWashingtonState,sCommunityEconom...rshiptoconstructthestate,sfirstspecialtybiochemica...entwillsignificantlyspeedthedevelopmentofourbioref...lueMarbleEnergyCEOKellyOgilvie."Wearegratefultothe...
(Date:11/24/2009)...tCall/--Shireplc(LSE:SHP,NASDAQ: SHPGY ),thegloba...thatithassubmittedaMAAtotheEuropeanMedicinesAgency...ttherapyindevelopment,forthetreatmentofType1Gauche...aglucerasealfathathasbeensubmitted,withprevious,su...naglobalsupplyshortageofthecurrentlyapprovedandmar...
(Date:11/24/2009)...s Customers with Partners Validated to Process and...ts , Ottawa, ON (PRWEB) N...der of products for biological sample collection, ... new global partner program. The program offers si...ommunity and is designed to help partners scale an...
(Date:11/23/2009)... origami very high-tech origami. , Researchers a...nique for fabricating three-dimensional, single-cr...upling photolithography and a self-folding process...nly a few microns thick, offer mechanical bendabil...e same material. , "This is a completely differen...
Breaking Biology Technology:Blue Marble Energy, OPDA Awarded $2M by WA's Community Economic Revitalization Board 2Shire Submits European Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) for velaglucerase alfa for the Treatment of Type 1 Gaucher Disease 2Shire Submits European Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) for velaglucerase alfa for the Treatment of Type 1 Gaucher Disease 3DNA Genotek Launches Global Partner Program 2DNA Genotek Launches Global Partner Program 3Water droplets direct self-assembly process in thin-film materials 2
... (Nasdaq: DCTH ) today announced the appointment...rectors. Dr. Stoll is Executive Chairman of Corte...ology company specializing in the treatment of cen... http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20081118/NY46...toll worked as a consultant to several east coast ...
...orporation,(Nasdaq: PRXL ), a leading global bio...hat it has established an alliance with Safe Imple...onal, the world,s largest network of,clinical site...oke. Through,this alliance, PAREXEL,s clients bene...r sites located in 40 countries, which are dedicat...
...armaceuticals Ltd. (Nasdaq: XTLB ; TASE: XTL) an...ons following the failure of the Bicifadine Phase ...employment of 9 employees,representing 75% of its ...sible for seeking potential assets or a company to...on and/or disposition of XTL,s assets. , Cau...
Other Biology Technology:Delcath Adds Senior Pharmaceutical Professional to Its Board of Directors 2Delcath Adds Senior Pharmaceutical Professional to Its Board of Directors 3PAREXEL Establishes Alliance with SITS Network of Clinical Sites Specializing in Stroke Studies 2PAREXEL Establishes Alliance with SITS Network of Clinical Sites Specializing in Stroke Studies 3PAREXEL Establishes Alliance with SITS Network of Clinical Sites Specializing in Stroke Studies 4
... a base medium for preparation of minimal and synt...ulfate but does not contain amino acids. Both bulk... Each pouch contains reagents to prepare 500 ml of...r S. cerevisiae media. Store at 15C to 30C. Guaran...
...ons are cytopathic effect inhibition assays, also ...tion assay measures the antibody's ability to neut...pes include; tissue culture supernatents; serum an...t is defined as the quantity of interferon require...
Rabbit Anti-Shigella Polyclonal Antibody, Unconjugated from GeneTex
...dy is a mouse monoclonal antibody (IgG1) with high...(GST) domain from S. japonicum . This purified ant...ntaining the GSTTag sequence expressed in E. coli ...nslation systems by Western blotting, immunofluore...
Biology Products: