0000000000026476
AUTHOR
Peter Fratzl
A new twist on sea silk : the peculiar protein ultrastructure of fan shell and pearl oyster byssus
11 pages; International audience; Numerous mussel species produce byssal threads - tough proteinaceous fibers, which anchor mussels in aquatic habitats. Byssal threads from Mytilus species, which are comprised of modified collagen proteins - have become a veritable archetype for bio-inspired polymers due to their self-healing properties. However, threads from different species are comparatively much less understood. In particular, the byssus of Pinna nobilis comprises thousands of fine fibers utilized by humans for millennia to fashion lightweight golden fabrics known as sea silk. P. nobilis is very different from Mytilus from an ecological, morphological and evolutionary point of view and …
A hydrated crystalline calcium carbonate phase: Calcium carbonate hemihydrate.
Hydrous CaCO 3 gets a new structure Calcium carbonate (CaCO 3 ) forms important minerals on Earth and is a model system for understanding crystal nucleation. Three different structures of CaCO 3 are known, along with two structures that are hydrated. Zou et al. found a third hydrated CaCO 3 structure formed from amorphous CaCO 3 in the presence of magnesium ions. The discovery illustrates the importance of amorphous precursors for producing new materials. Science , this issue p. 396
Self-healing silk from the sea: role of helical hierarchical structure inPinna nobilisbyssus mechanics
11 pages; International audience; The byssus fibers of Mytilus mussel species have become an important role model in bioinspired materials research due to their impressive properties (e.g. high toughness, self-healing); however, Mytilids represent only a small subset of all byssus-producing bivalves. Recent studies have revealed that byssus from other species possess completely different protein composition and hierarchical structure. In this regard, Pinna nobilis byssus is especially interesting due to its very different morphology, function and its historical use for weaving lightweight golden fabrics, known as sea silk. P. nobilis byssus was recently discovered to be comprised of globula…