The efficient building process of these unique fangs could improve how composite materials are made.
The proboscis of the bloodworm species Glycera dibranchiata with its four jaws exposed. A scanning electron microscope image of a bloodworm jaw .Having sturdy jaws is essential for the small marine creatures known as bloodworms.
The jaws must be both very sharp and very tough because bloodworms only make them once during their lifetimes, Waite says. The key to this fearsome maw lies in a unique mix of copper, melanin, and a protein with some impressive chemical properties, he and his collaborators reported on April 25 in the journal. The worms’ efficient jaw-building process may hold insights for improving how composite materials—which are made from a mix of different substances—are manufactured, the team concluded.
Scientists aren’t sure why the worms opted for copper rather than another metal more typically used by marine invertebrates, such as iron or zinc. However, one possibility is that the copper reacts with the venom stored in the fangs. “The worm has the luxury of storing these toxins in some kind of less harmful or inert form and they become toxic as they move through the channels in the jaw on their way into the prey,” Waite says.
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