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

ally made sandwiches, often called calamari steak sandwiches.

Waite finds the squid beak compelling and he interested postdoctoral researcher and first author Ali Miserez in joining the study. Miserez is affiliated with UCSBs Department of Materials, the Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology (MCDB), and the Marine Science Institute.

Id always been skeptical of whether there is any real advantage to functionally graded materials, but the squid beak turned me into a believer, said co-author Frank Zok, professor and associate chair of the Department of Materials at UC Santa Barbara.

Here you have a cutting tool thats extremely hard and stiff at its tip and is attached to a material the muscular buccal mass that has the consistency of Jell-o, said Zok.

You can imagine the problems youd encounter if you attached a knife blade to a block of Jell-o and tried to use that blade for cutting. The blade would cut through the Jell-o at least as much as the targeted object. In the case of the squid beak, nature takes care of the problem by changing the beak composition progressively, rather than abruptly, so that its tip can pierce prey without harming the squid in the process. Its a truly fascinating design!

Zok explained that most engineered structures are made of combinations of very different materials such as ceramics, metals and plastics. Joining them together requires either some sort of mechanical attachment like a rivet, a nut and bolt, or an adhesive such as epoxy. But these approaches have limitations.

If we could reproduce the property gradients that we find in squid beak, it would open new possibilities for joining materials, explained Zok. For example, if you graded an adhesive to make its properties match one material on one side and the other material on the other side, you could potentially form a much more robust bond, he said. This could really revolutionize the way engine
'/>"/>

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:12/3/2009)Our ability to learn new information and adapt to changes in our daily environment, as well as to retain lifelong memories, appears to lie in the minute junctions where nerve cells communicate, accord
(Date:12/3/2009)ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. Most scientists believe that staph infections are caused by many bacterial cells that signal each other to emit toxins. The signaling process is called quorum sensing because many b
(Date:12/3/2009)Spanish researchers have measured CO2 levels for the past three years in the troposphere (lower atmosphere) over a sparsely inhabited rural area near Valladolid. The results, which are the first of th
Breaking Biology News(10 mins):Lifelong memories linked to stable nerve connections 2Stopping MRSA before it becomes dangerous is possible, Sandia/UNM researchers find 2Stopping MRSA before it becomes dangerous is possible, Sandia/UNM researchers find 3CO2 levels rising in troposphere over rural areas 2CEL SCI Signs Definitive Agreement to Raise 245 Million in Registered Direct Offering 12761 1CEL SCI Signs Definitive Agreement to Raise 245 Million in Registered Direct Offering 12761 2CEL SCI Signs Definitive Agreement to Raise 245 Million in Registered Direct Offering 12761 3Veran Medical Enables Breakthrough 4D Navigation to Cancer Lesions at University of Virginia Hospital 49893 1Veran Medical Enables Breakthrough 4D Navigation to Cancer Lesions at University of Virginia Hospital 49893 2Bridges to Excellence Announces Five New Physician Recognition Programs With Potential to Save Billions of Health Care Dollars 49891 1Bridges to Excellence Announces Five New Physician Recognition Programs With Potential to Save Billions of Health Care Dollars 49891 2Bridges to Excellence Announces Five New Physician Recognition Programs With Potential to Save Billions of Health Care Dollars 49891 3
...TON, Sept. 8 The 2009 Force Protection Equipment,...County Regional Airport,Stafford, VA, and Marine C...VII theme is: Impacting the Global War on Terror.,...nd featuring live,presentations of commercial off-...ing force protection and physical security challen...
...ew paper by a team of researchers led by Shahriar ...s at the University of Notre Dame, provides import...a recycle their cell wall. , The cell wall is a c...ial for their survival. It is a rigid entity encas... interfere with disease processes by affecting its...
...YORK, September 8, 2008 Patients with type 1 diab...devices to help manage their disease experienced s...cording to initial results of a major multicenter ...earch Foundation. Results from the study were pres...e Study of Diabetes (EASD) annual meeting in Rome,...
Other Biology News:2009 Force Protection Equipment Demonstration Set for Next May 19-21 2JDRF-funded clinical trial demonstrates continuous glucose monitoring improves blood sugar control 2JDRF-funded clinical trial demonstrates continuous glucose monitoring improves blood sugar control 3
(Date:12/2/2009)NANJING, China, Dec. 2 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- Simcere Pharmaceutical Group,("Simcere" or the "Company") (NYSE: SCR ), a leading pharmaceutical company,specializing in the development, manufacturing, a
(Date:12/2/2009)SHANGHAI, Dec. 2 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- The world is going through,extraordinary times; markets are in turmoil and uncertainty is part of many,businesses and industries. It turns out that the pharma ind
(Date:12/2/2009)HOBOKEN, N.J., Dec. 2 According to the National Institute of Health, 40 percent to 45 percent of Americans diagnosed with diabetes already have some stage of diabetic retinopathy. Diabetic retinopat
(Date:12/1/2009)INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev., Dec. 1 PDL BioPharma, Inc. (PDL) (Nasdaq: PDLI ) today announced revenue guidance for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2009 of approximately $57 million, as compared with
Breaking Biology Technology:Simcere Announces 105 Drugs Included in China's National Drug Reimbursement List 2Simcere Announces 105 Drugs Included in China's National Drug Reimbursement List 3Pharma and Biotech Leaders to Converge in China at Asia Pharma R&D Leaders 2010 Summit 2Pharma and Biotech Leaders to Converge in China at Asia Pharma R&D Leaders 2010 Summit 3Study Shows Pine Bark Improves Microcirculation, Retinal Swelling And Visual Acuity In Early Diabetic Retinopathy 2Study Shows Pine Bark Improves Microcirculation, Retinal Swelling And Visual Acuity In Early Diabetic Retinopathy 3Study Shows Pine Bark Improves Microcirculation, Retinal Swelling And Visual Acuity In Early Diabetic Retinopathy 4PDL BioPharma Provides Fourth Quarter 2009 Revenue Guidance of Approximately $57 Million 2PDL BioPharma Provides Fourth Quarter 2009 Revenue Guidance of Approximately $57 Million 3
...m F. Fearon, Morton J. Kern and Peter Ver ...ON, Massachusetts, October 8 The use of,fractiona...es is the topic,of multiple sessions at this year,...ium, TCT 2008, which will take place Oct. 12-17 in...t company to develop systems that,calculate FFR wi...
...l Corporation today,announced the appointment of t...porate Advisory Board (CAB). R. Christopher Seaton...rtha Matteo, Ph.D., Past President of,SCIP and rec...icals, Inc.,where she was the Director for Knowled... Advanced BioHealing, Inc., are known throughout t...
...fornia State Senator,Shelia Kuehl,s leadership rol...rominent Democrat to bring ,adult stem cell, resea...dicine (CIRM) as the viable and credible life,scie...The Repair Stem Cell,Institute (RSCI; http://www....voted,to educating the public about adult stem cel...
Other Biology Technology:Radi Medical Systems Announces Schedule for TCT 2008 2BioXcel Forms a Corporate Advisory Board for Its Next Phase of Growth 2California State Senator Shelia Kuehl's Leadership in Stem Cell Debate Praised and 'Embryonic Stem Cell Profiteers' Criticized by Repair Stem Cell Institute Spokesman 2
...gmaStat 3.5 is a user-friendly statistical softwar... them to perform statistical analysis without bein... about your data and research and SigmaStat sugges...st the tests underlying assumptions and suggests a...
...emiLucent™ Plus is a chemiluminescent signal...to boost the signal obtained with all ECL based We... is derived from a powerful, innovative proprietar...uminescent substrate enhancers, ChemiLucent™...
...ocess Control at its Best: DASGIPs Process Control...ring, Online Changes & comprehensive documentation...ters auch as pH, dissolved oxygen, temperature and...ine. Profiles, e.g. constant or scheduled media fl...
...P-165 is an 18 amino acid synthetic peptide whose ... The sequence of this peptide is (amino to carbox... - E - A - I - D - K - K - I - K - Q - D - C(39). ...control experiments with the polyclonal antibody t...
Biology Products: