This creates a material called nacre, also known as mother-of-pearl, which encases the irritant and protects the mollusc from it. When pearls are cultured commercially an irritant is manually inserted ...

To protect itself from the invader, the mollusk starts to coat the debris with nacre, or mother-of-pearl, the same material that lines the inner layer of its shell. It continues doing this ...

To reduce irritation, the mollusk coats the intruder with the same secretion it uses for shell-building, nacre. To culture freshwater mussels, workers slightly open their shells, cut small slits ...

While the modern world is build with cement, its creation is one of the biggest emitters of greenhouse gasses. As a result, finding ways improve its durability and safety is paramount. In a new ...

When a mollusk senses that its shell has been invaded by an irritant, it creates a substance called "nacre," or what we commonly refer to as mother-of-pearl. Nacre inside the shell traps and ...