Calcium Carbonate: How Life Rocks

A revolution in materials science will begin as soon as engineers "make like an oyster." Calcium carbonate (CaCO3) is a very abundant mineral on the earth, but its consistency is often weak, like chalk, or brittle, like calcite. Chemical engineers could gain "pearls of wisdom" from a lowly oyster, says the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. From "How Seashells Get Their Strength":

Seashells and lobster claws are hard to break, but chalk is soft enough to draw on sidewalks. Though all thr...