Sea Cucumbers Inspire Nano-Material
Inspired by the skin of sea cucumbers, scientists have created a breakthrough substance, with astounding “mechanical morphing characteristics,” that can change in seconds when exposed to liquid, shifting from hard plastic to soft and back again, and that has a wide range of potential medical applications.
Researchers said a plethora of possible biomedical applications exist for the malleable new material, including as part of “artificial nervous systems” for patients with Parkinson’s disease, stroke or spinal cord injuries.
Sea cucumbers, found on ocean floors around the world, have leathery skin, an elongated, cucumber-like shape, and a consistency that can be either gelatinous, stiff and rigid, or anything in between.
This “switching effect” in the tissue of the sea cucumber is derived from a distinct nanocomposite structure in which highly rigid collagen nanofibers are embedded in a soft connective tissue. [Via]
