Overview
- The team showed that Leptogorgia chilensis expels water from a gel-like matrix, packing mineral sclerites until they interlock and the branch stiffens.
- Sclerites are calcium carbonate elements about a tenth of a millimeter long with branched, rod-like geometry that promotes friction and interlocking.
- Researchers combined multiscale imaging, parametric modeling, 3D printing, mechanical tests, and discrete element simulations to validate the mechanism.
- The findings suggest design blueprints for tunable materials in areas such as soft robotics, surgical tools, dampers, and manufacturing, though applications remain prospective.
- The peer-reviewed work focuses on a single species and includes tests on preserved samples, and the authors call for studies across other soft corals to assess broader relevance.