Fish scales referable to future armor

BEIJING, July 29 (Chinese medianet) -- U.S. researchers said

the design of fish scales may refer to the future armor, media reported on

Monday.

This combo photo shows Polypterus

senegalus (L) and a design of fish scale armor.
Photo

Gallery

A

team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which studied scales from

Polypterus senegalus,said fish scales design deflects the pressure of

crunching bite from predators, forcing cracks to run in a circle around the

penetration site and preventing them spreading through the entire scale.

"Many of the design principles we describe -- durable

interfaces and energy-dissipating mechanisms, for instance -- may be

translatable to human armor systems," MIT's Christine Ortiz, who led the study,

said in a statement.

P. Senegalus usually livesat the bottom of

freshwater, muddy shallows and estuaries in Africa.

　The species, known for its heavy armor, evolved it millions of years

ago.

(Agencies)