When it comes to bio-inspired materials, it seems there would be no end to inspiration and that’s been the case with materials scientist Joanna McKittrick of the University of California, San Diego. McKittrick has looked at everything from Narwhal tusks to abalone shells and seahorses to get a better sense of their microstructures at a molecular level.

"We section them and we look at them under the optical microscope; we look at them under the scanning electron microscope and we look at them under the transmission electron microscope and so we can characterize their structure details and do mechanical tests on that."

McKittrick has been looking at feathers and porcupine quills, both made of keratin, and both of interest due to their bending resistance.

"So, we would like to try to make tubes, energy absorbent tubes based on the structure of the feathers and porcupine quills. So, these would be lightweight and they would be resistant to bending and resistant to crushing."