Nacre, the iridescent material that mollusks make to line their shells and coat their pearls, is exceptionally tough. Inspired by nacre’s microscopic structure, ...

A biologist invented an inexpensive and environmentally friendly method for making artificial nacre using an innovative component: bacteria. The artificial nacre is made of biologically produced ...

"The nacre-mimetics based on small clays are very tough. However, if we use large clays with an aspect ratio of 3500, the resulting nacre-mimetics are both extremely stiff and strong.

Nacre, or Mother-of-Pearl, is one of the more intriguing natural materials with potential in the manufacturing of armor — thanks to a few unique characteristics.

Each new layer of nacre built over this asymmetrical center adapts precisely to the ones preceding it, smoothing out irregularities to result in a round pearl, according to an analysis published ...

Nacre into new materials. The researchers took what they learned about the nacre's fancy brickwork and built a model material that has the same wavy-brick effect.