For centuries, researchers have puzzled over how oysters grow stunningly symmetrical, perfectly round pearls around irregularly shaped grains of sand or bits of debris. Now a team has shown that ...

How nacre, or mother-of-pearl, is first deposited by the animals that make it has eluded discovery despite decades of scientific inquiry. Now, a team of scientists reports the first direct ...

Nacre, also known as mother-of-pearl, is a biomineral that forms inside of molluskan shells and also makes up the outer coating of pearls. It is formed through a blend of minerals that are secreted by ...

Researchers describe, how structural defects in self-assembling nacre attract and cancel each other out, eventually leading to a perfect periodic structure. Mollusks build shells to protect their soft ...

The iridescent beauty of pearl and nacre, the material found inside the shells of some molluscs, appears to be due to two recently discovered proteins, say Japanese researchers. The discovery could ...

The iridescent beauty of pearl and nacre, the material found inside the shells of clams, oysters and other mollusks, would likely be impossible without two new proteins recently discovered by Japanese ...

How nature makes its biominerals—things like teeth, bone and seashells—is a playbook scientists have long been trying to read. Among the most intriguing biominerals is nacre, or mother-of-pearl—the ...