{"id":62617,"date":"2026-07-14T15:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/?p=2579072"},"modified":"2026-07-14T15:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T15:00:00","slug":"hard-but-lightweight-bio-metal-material-discovered-in-sea-worm-jaws","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/fugic\/2026\/07\/14\/hard-but-lightweight-bio-metal-material-discovered-in-sea-worm-jaws\/","title":{"rendered":"Hard but lightweight \u2018bio-metal\u2019 material discovered in sea worm jaws"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1350\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/SEI_305153597.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2579163\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/SEI_305153597.jpg 1350w, https:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/SEI_305153597.jpg?resize=150,100 150w, https:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/SEI_305153597.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/SEI_305153597.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/SEI_305153597.jpg?resize=600,400 600w, https:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/SEI_305153597.jpg?resize=400,267 400w, https:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/SEI_305153597.jpg?resize=900,600 900w, https:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/SEI_305153597.jpg?resize=1200,800 1200w, https:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/SEI_305153597.jpg?resize=196,131 196w, https:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/SEI_305153597.jpg?resize=301,201 301w, https:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/SEI_305153597.jpg?resize=415,277 415w, https:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/SEI_305153597.jpg?resize=602,401 602w, https:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/SEI_305153597.jpg?resize=830,553 830w, https:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/SEI_305153597.jpg?resize=105,70 105w, https:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/SEI_305153597.jpg?resize=210,140 210w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1350px) 100vw, 1350px\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><div class=\"wp-image__caption--icon\"><svg width=\"15\" height=\"15\" viewbox=\"0 0 15 15\"><use href=\"https:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/themes\/newscientist\/images\/icon-circle-chevron.svg#icon-circle-chevron\"><\/use><\/svg><\/div><div class=\"wp-image__caption--text\">The marine ragworm Perinereis cultrifera<\/div><div class=\"wp-image__caption--credit\">Steve Trewhella \/ Alamy<\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The jaws of some sea worms are made of an exceptionally hard yet lightweight material dubbed a \u201cbio-metal\u201d that could have applications in engineering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Perinereis cultrifera<\/em> is a type of ragworm with a long body adorned with bristles. Members of the species also have strong jaws that enable them to crush hard prey such as small crustaceans or other worms. Remnants of their jaws have been found in the fossil record dating back to hundreds of millions of years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\t<div class=\"read-more__standard wp-block-newscientist-read-more\">\n\t\t<a class=\"read-more__standard--wrapper no-animation\" href=\"https:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/2524049-largest-ever-octopus-was-great-white-shark-of-invertebrate-predators\/\">\n\t\t\t<strong>Read more<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<p>Largest-ever octopus was great white shark of invertebrate predators<\/p>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tuwien.at\/en\/cee\/imws\/strength\/team\/christian-hellmich\">Christian Hellmich<\/a> at TU Wien in Austria and his colleagues have been studying this worm\u2019s jaws for almost a decade, leading them to propose that they are made of a novel material. The molecular structure of each jaw combines proteins and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/2524699-scorpions-reinforce-their-claws-and-stingers-with-metals\/\">ions of metals such as zinc<\/a>, giving it characteristics in between those of softer biological materials and metals.<\/p>\n<div class=\"advert-wrapper advert__mid-article\">\n\t<div class=\"advert\">\n\t\t<div class=\"advert__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"advert__copy\">\n\t\t\t\t\tAdvertisement\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"advert__slot\" id=\"mid-article-slot\">\n\t\t\t\t<script>\n\t\t\t\t\tif( window?.adverts?.addToArray ) {\n\t\t\t\t\t\twindow.adverts.addToArray( {\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"pos\": \"mid-article-slot\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t} );\n\t\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\t<\/script>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Most recently, the team performed more than 3300 experiments in which small indentations were made in different parts of the jaw. The way its hardness changed under this pressure followed a pattern typical of metals like copper and silver. But the jaw also exhibited <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/2523607-diamonds-are-surprisingly-elastic-when-you-make-them-tiny\/\">a kind of elasticity<\/a> that metals cannot have, says Hellmich.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Finally, the researchers developed a mathematical model of bio-metals, which shows how they might respond to strain in a unique way in which microscopic forces arise from the metal ions becoming arranged into lines similar to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/2384843-supersonic-cracks-seem-to-be-breaking-the-laws-of-physics\/\">certain defects<\/a> in crystals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-newscientist-newsletter-promotion\">\n\t<div class=\"newsletter-promotion__content\">\n\t\t<p class=\"newsletter-promotion__tagline\">Free newsletter<\/p>\n\t\t<h4 class=\"newsletter-promotion__title\">\n\t\t\tSign up to The Earth Edition\t\t<\/h4>\n\t\t<p class=\"newsletter-promotion__excerpt\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t<div class=\"newsletter-promotion__actions\">\n\t\t\t<a class=\"button button--secondary button--has-icon\" href=\"https:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/sign-up\/the-earth-edition\/\">\n\t\t\t\t<span>Sign up to newsletter<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<svg width=\"18\" height=\"18\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" style=\"--fill-color: #000\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<use href=\"https:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/themes\/newscientist\/images\/icon-arrow-right.svg#icon-arrow-right\"><\/use>\n\t\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t<div class=\"newsletter-promotion__background\">\n\t\t<span class=\"newsletter-promotion__gradient\"><\/span>\n\t\t<div class=\"newsletter-promotion__image__wrapper\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"image__wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/16102103\/the_earth_edition_2025_ed_newsletter_landingtiles_2400px.jpg?w=600&amp;h=450&amp;crop=1\" class=\"attachment-4x3-sm size-4x3-sm wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" sizes=\"(min-width: 432px) 412px, (min-width: 300px) 373px, 100vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/16102103\/the_earth_edition_2025_ed_newsletter_landingtiles_2400px.jpg?resize=300,225 300w, https:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/16102103\/the_earth_edition_2025_ed_newsletter_landingtiles_2400px.jpg?resize=400,300 400w, https:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/16102103\/the_earth_edition_2025_ed_newsletter_landingtiles_2400px.jpg?resize=600,450 600w, https:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/16102103\/the_earth_edition_2025_ed_newsletter_landingtiles_2400px.jpg?resize=800,600 800w, https:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/16102103\/the_earth_edition_2025_ed_newsletter_landingtiles_2400px.jpg?resize=1024,768 1024w, https:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/16102103\/the_earth_edition_2025_ed_newsletter_landingtiles_2400px.jpg?resize=1920,1440 1920w\">\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The researchers were surprised to uncover so much novelty in the relatively simple animal. Performing mechanical tests on the millimetre-sized jaw was really challenging and required hundreds of hours of preparation and polishing, says Hellmich. \u201cBasically, anything can go wrong,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe jaws of bristle worms are incredibly hard yet very lightweight,\u201d says <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kent.edu\/biology\/profile\/matthew-lehnert\">Matthew Lehnert<\/a> at Kent State University in Ohio. \u201cMany industries, from automobiles to aeronautics, are searching for new ways to develop hard and lightweight materials. The answers are provided in nature!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\t<div class=\"read-more__standard wp-block-newscientist-read-more\">\n\t\t<a class=\"read-more__standard--wrapper no-animation\" href=\"https:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/2473713-the-anus-may-have-evolved-from-a-hole-originally-used-to-release-sperm\/\">\n\t\t\t<strong>Read more<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<p>The anus may have evolved from a hole originally used to release sperm<\/p>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSomehow evolution figured out a way to coax a metal-like mechanical fingerprint out of protein-like ingredients, and studying the worm is how we ask what trick makes that possible,\u201d says <a href=\"https:\/\/cee.mit.edu\/people_individual\/markus-j-buehler\/\">Markus Buehler<\/a> at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who didn\u2019t work on the study. The long-term dream outcome of this research is to genetically program materials that would grow in biological systems, he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hellmich and his colleagues are interested in pursuing this goal and their team already includes geneticists and biologists at the University of Vienna. \u201cWe are asking questions like, \u2018If we knock out a few genes, then how will the jaws be different?\u2019\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"journal-reference__wrapper wp-block-newscientist-read-more\">\n\t<strong>Journal Reference:<\/strong>\n\t<p>\n\t\t<em>Biophysics Reviews<\/em>\n\t\t<a class=\"journal-reference__link no-animation\" href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1063\/5.0325367\">\n\t\t\tDOI: 10.1063\/5.0325367\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Marine bristle worms have jaws made from a mix of proteins and metal ions that may constitute a whole new kind of material, with possible applications in engineering<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":541,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[781,2523,300],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-62617","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-animals","category-life","category-materials"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/fugic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62617"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/fugic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/fugic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/fugic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/541"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/fugic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62617"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/fugic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62617\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":62687,"href":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/fugic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62617\/revisions\/62687"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/fugic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62617"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/fugic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62617"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/fugic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62617"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}