Diabolical Ironclad Beetle: Unlocking the secrets of its super-tough design

The diabolical ironclad beetle is so tough, it can survive getting run over by a car applying ~100 newtons of force. Engineers from Purdue University and UC-Irvine teamed up to unlock the beetle’s secrets. Their research, featured in a paper published in Nature, revealed that the beetle’s super-toughness lies in its two armorlike “elytron” that meet at a line, called a suture, running the length of the abdomen. Full story: Featured Purdue Engineer: Pablo Zavattieri, Jerry M. and Lynda T. Engelhardt Professor in the Lyles School of Civil Engineering Video credits: CT scans, electric microscopy, and compression test video by Rivera, Kisailus Biomimetics and Nanostructured Materials Lab, University of California, Irvine 3D models and computer simulations by Maryam Sadat Hosseini, PhD student, Lyles School of Civil Engineering Dung Beetle Flying: via Drive South Africa Music: “Am-Trans“ by Podington Bear via Creative Commons (CC BY-NC 3.0