Hot Topics in Science: Our Review of 2015 (1/5)
14th December 2015 - Last modified 28th November 2023
As 2015 comes to a close, we’ve taken a look back over this year’s major scientific discoveries, starting in today’s blog. From genomics to materials science we’ve chosen five developments that have impressed us the most, and we’re blogging about one of these each day this week.
So please come back to check out this week’s daily blog posts, then vote for your favourite on our blog page on Monday 21 December. We’ll post the results in January.
Hot Topic #1: The Surprising Nature of Limpet Teeth
Move over spider silk, limpet teeth have now taken centre stage as the strongest natural material known to man. Published in February, researchers at the University of Portsmouth used in situ atomic force microscopy to measure the tensile strength of limpet tooth samples.1 Incredibly, this was found to range from 3-6.5 GPa (for comparison, spider silk reaches 4.5 GPa)2 and evolved to protect the teeth as they rasp over rocks to scrape away algae for food. A mineral known as goethite is responsible for these properties, arranged within a protein matrix into fibres so fine that they avoid the formation of flaws.
Strength is even independent of sample size, which is vital for translating this discovery into real-world applications: As a sample grows in size, the occurrence of flaws increases and compromises mechanical strength. However, the material forming limpet teeth may be used to form larger structures while retaining the same level of strength – and this might one day be applied to anything from aircraft to dental fillings.
References:
- Barber, A.H., et al. (2015). Extreme strength observed in limpet teeth. J R Soc Interface. 12(105). DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2014.1326.
- Lepore E, et al. 2012 Evidence of the most stretchable egg sac silk stalk, of the European spider of the year Meta menardi. PLoS ONE 7, e30500.
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