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Figure 5
The shells of living beings, like the shell of this nautilus, are self-assembled constructions of microscopic crystals. Unlike mineral crystals with their characteristic straight lines, angular shapes and flat faces, life has been able to build extraordinary pieces of architecture with continuous curvatures. These are biomineral structures, fascinating both for their beauty and for the different functions these organisms carry out: lenses for seeing, teeth for chewing, skeletons for self-protection, sensors to navigate… Do you know what minerals are most used by living organisms? Have you ever asked yourself how living things make their mineral structures? Did you know that engineers try to imitate life in order to design new materials?

Journal logoJOURNAL OF
APPLIED
CRYSTALLOGRAPHY
ISSN: 1600-5767
Volume 48| Part 4| August 2015| Pages 1264-1275
https://doi.org/10.1107/S1600576715007724
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