New shell-and-silk hybrid is as flexible, hard as aluminium, half the weight

In Massachusetts, Harvard researchers have developed a new material, shrilk, derived from shrimp shells and a silk protein, that is flexible, clear and as hard as aluminum while only half the weight.

In an article from the Harvard Gazette, the material is described as being biodegradable, with a wide range of possible uses, from medical sutures, scaffolding for regenerating tissue to a potential replacement for plastic.