3 October 2020 | New Scientist | 27Sponge power
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.
The Venus’s 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’s 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’t
reach the full potential of
E. aspergillum’s design as it
wastes material, requires a lot of
maintenance and can’t support
extremely heavy loads.
Last week, researchers at
Harvard University showed
that the diagonal reinforcement
of the sponge’s lattice design
allows it to take on heavier loads,
boosting its structural strength
by more than 20 per cent (Nature
Materials, doi. org/d97g).
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. ❚
Gege Li