Ammonites are a group of extinct cephalopod mollusks with ribbed spiral shells. They are exceptionally diverse and well known to fossil lovers. Researchers have developed the first biomechanical model ...

Scientists have been looking to nature for inspiration for materials with useful properties. Insect exoskeletons and shark skin are examples of materials that exhibit strength, durability, and less ...

Long before dinosaurs roamed the earth, the oceans were full of creatures known as ammonites. Scientists have now created a number of robotic ammonites, to see how the different shell shapes they ...

In a university swimming pool, scientists and their underwater cameras watch carefully as a coiled shell is released from a pair of metal tongs. The shell begins to move under its own power, giving ...

NBCUniversal unveiled a sweeping new re-organization that breaks down walls between divisions devoted to TV and to news, gives new duties to two top executives, and prompts a third to leave the ...

You can see it in the logarithmic whorl of a nautilus. The milky iridescence of an abalone. The spiked turret of a queen conch. Precision, elegance, strength. The seashell is a consonance of form and ...

For years, scientists have tried to crack a mathematical mystery: Is there an equation that can perfectly describe each and every bird egg? Variable shell shapes complicated things. But it turns out ...

Northern Map Turtles, Graptemys geographica, are a long-lived riverine species of conservation concern. We examined carapace morphology of Northern Map Turtles at Mount Union, a major turtle nesting ...

Robotic ammonites, evaluated in a university pool, allow researchers to explore questions about how shell shapes affected swimming ability. They found trade-offs between stability in the water and ...