The strongest biological material on the planet comes from somewhere you might not expect: the teeth of aquatic snails.
Limpets, a class of snails whose shells lack obvious coiling, have teeth made of goethite, a composite mineral with incredible strength. The limpets' teeth are stronger than spider silk and "all but the very strongest of man-made materials," BBC News reports.
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"Biology is a great source of inspiration as an engineer," Asa Barber, lead author of the study, told BBC News. "These teeth are made up of very small fibers, put together in a particular way — and we should be thinking about making our own structures following the same design principles."
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