The strongest biological material on Earth comes from snails

Giant Africa land snails.
(Image credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

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.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Meghan DeMaria

Meghan DeMaria is a staff writer at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked for USA Today and Marie Claire.