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posted by takyon on Wednesday February 20 2019, @06:12AM   Printer-friendly
from the lobster-tail-tires dept.

Submitted via IRC for Bytram

Lobster's underbelly is as tough as industrial rubber (alt)

Flip a lobster on its back, and you'll see that the underside of its tail is split in segments connected by a translucent membrane that appears rather vulnerable when compared with the armor-like carapace that shields the rest of the crustacean.

But engineers at MIT and elsewhere have found that this soft membrane is surprisingly tough, with a microscopic, layered, plywood-like structure that makes it remarkably tolerant to scrapes and cuts. This deceptively tough film protects the lobster's belly as the animal scuttles across the rocky seafloor.

The membrane is also stretchy, to a degree, which enables the lobster to whip its tail back and forth, and makes it difficult for a predator to chew through the tail or pull it apart.

This flexibility may come from the fact that the membrane is a natural hydrogel, composed of 90 percent of water. Chitin, a fibrous material found in many shells and exoskeletons, makes up most of the rest.

The team's results show that the lobster membrane is the toughest material of all natural hydrogels, including collagen, animal skins, and natural rubber. The membrane is about as strong as industrial rubber composites, such as those used to make car tires, garden hoses, and conveyor belts.

The lobster's tough yet stretchy membrane could serve as a design guide for more flexible body armor, particularly for highly mobile regions of the body, such as elbows and knees.

Natural hydrogel in American lobster: A soft armor with high toughness and strength (DOI: 10.1016/j.actbio.2019.01.067) (DX)


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  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by TheFool on Wednesday February 20 2019, @06:33PM (2 children)

    by TheFool (7105) on Wednesday February 20 2019, @06:33PM (#804095)

    Fun fact: lobster was considered a poor person food for a long time. So I'm not sure who it was that first tried it, but the train of thought was probably something like "... you know, it's this or starving to death.". Not really sure why it got popular eventually, either.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 21 2019, @01:12AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 21 2019, @01:12AM (#804320)

    It's true. Lobster used to be fed to slaves, and since it tastes better than cassava many Africans volunteered to be slaves.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 21 2019, @03:17AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 21 2019, @03:17AM (#804350)

    They fed lobsters to the prisoners in New England. Somehow, one thing led to another and now it's a delicacy.

    Maryland blue crab meat is much tastier, but lobster tail (and Alaskan king crabs) is much meatier and less labor-consuming.

    Anyone tried the coconut crab meat? How that taste?