Remarkable Structures of Deep-Sea Venus Flower Sponges Useful for Design of Ships, Planes and Skyscr
Remarkable Structures of Deep-Sea Venus Flower Sponges Useful for Design of Ships, Planes and SkyscrapersPublished in the journal Nature the first-ever simulation of the deep-sea Venus flower sponge and how it responds to and influences the flow of nearby water.The remarkable structural properties of the basket sponge (E. aspergillum) might seem fathoms removed from human-engineered structures. However, insights into how the organism’s latticework of holes and ridges influences the hydrodynamics of seawater in its vicinity could lead to advanced designs for buildings, bridges, marine vehicles and aircraft, and anything that must respond safely to forces imposed by the flow of air or water.While past research has investigated the structure of the sponge, there have been few studies of the hydrodynamic fields surrounding and penetrating the organism, and whether, besides improving its mechanical properties, the skeletal motifs of E. Aspergillum underlie the optimization of the flow physics within and beyond its body cavity.Read more. -- source link
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