🔬 Nature-Inspired Breakthrough: Programmable "Smart" Materials Mimic Seashell Armor

Engineers have cracked nature’s code! A new study reveals how to design synthetic materials that mimic layered seashells—dramatically improving impact protection for:

🚗 Car bumpers
🩹 Wearable bandages
🛡️ Body armor

Key Innovations

🐚 Bio-inspired design: Replicates nacre (mother-of-pearl)’s stress-dissipating layers.
⚙️ Programmable responses: Each layer adapts to collision severity.
🧩 Collaborative layers: Microscopic interconnections enable collective behavior—just like biological materials.

"When materials work together like nature intended, they achieve the impossible."
— Prof. Shelly Zhang, University of Illinois

#MaterialScience #BioInspiration #Engineering #SeashellTech #ScienceAdvances

Reference

Zhao Z, Kundu RD, Sigmund O, Zhang XS. Extreme nonlinearity by layered materials through inverse design. Sci Adv. 2025;11(20):eadr6925. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adr6925.