New material inspired by a sea sponge’s glass skeleton

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New material inspired by a sea sponge’s glass skeleton

The silica skeleton of a Venus’ flower basket sea sponge (Euplectella aspergillum). Credit: RMIT University A sea sponge skeleton made of glass has engineers wondering how it might improve building materials. The sponge in question lives at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, and is known as Venus’ flower basket (Euplectella aspergillum). It builds its intricate basket-like skeleton out of silica – the main material in sand and glass. The skeleton’…