Image courtesy of
Matheus Fernandes/Harvard SEAS
THIS extraordinary, intricate marine sponge that lives deep in the Pacific Ocean could inspire even stronger, yet lightweight materials for use in anything from skyscrapers and bridges to spacecraft.
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The Venus鈥檚 flower basket (Euplectella aspergillum) is classed as a glass sponge because the lattice skeleton that supports its tubular body is made of silica. The skeleton鈥檚 chessboard-like geometry, formed from diagonal struts fused to an underlying grid, is mimicked in architectural design to achieve things like evenly spreading loads across a bridge or shelf.
Yet even though the technique has been used for centuries, researchers knew that it didn鈥檛 reach the full potential of E. aspergillum鈥榮 design as it wastes material, requires a lot of maintenance and can鈥檛 support extremely heavy loads.
, researchers at Harvard University showed that the diagonal reinforcement of the sponge鈥檚 lattice design allows it to take on heavier loads, boosting its structural strength by more than 20 per cent (Nature Materials, ).
The discovery adds to a growing appreciation of the superiority of certain biological materials, such as fungi and bamboo, over artificial ones. Some sea sponges have previously proved useful in other ways, too, by inspiring a cheaper way to make solar cells.
