Beneath the shimmer of an oyster’s mother-of-pearl, an intricate microstructure bestows both strength and toughness on the natural ceramic. Now, scientists have come up with a way to replicate that ...

A new synthetic material similar in structure to nacre – mother of pearl – is likely the toughest ceramic-based material ever made, according to US researchers. The low-density, high-strength material ...

Although you may know it simply as the shiny iridescent stuff on the inside of mollusk shells, mother-of-pearl (or nacre) is a remarkable material. It allows those shells, which otherwise consist ...

Researchers have created a strong, light-weight ceramic inspired by the composition of seashells, and say their new material could one day replace the aluminum alloys used in aerospace engineering. A ...