For centuries, researchers have puzzled over how oysters grow stunningly symmetrical, perfectly round pearls around irregularly shaped grains of sand or bits of debris. Now a team has shown that ...

Nacre, also known as mother-of-pearl, is a biomineral that forms inside of molluskan shells and also makes up the outer coating of pearls. It is formed through a blend of minerals that are secreted by ...

Mollusks build shells to protect their soft tissues from predators. Nacre, also known as the mother of pearl, has an intricate, highly regular structure that makes it an incredibly strong material.

Pearls begin as irritants within oysters, which respond by slowly covering the foreign object with layers of nacre. This ...

(Nanowerk News) Mother-of-pearl, also known as nacre, is an incredibly strong biomaterial forming the shell of some mollusks. Its strength and beauty comes from its remarkably regular and uniform ...

The strength and beauty of mother-of-pearl, also known as nacre, comes from its remarkably regular and uniform architecture. Until now, it was unclear how this intricate structure could be built by a ...