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Snail in shining armor

A deep-sea gastropod's natural shield may offer ideas for human protection

By Lisa Grossman

- More than 2 years ago

A deep-sea snail wears a multi-layered suit of armor, complete with iron, new research shows. Dissecting details of the shell’s structure could inspire tough new materials for use in everything from body armor to scratch-free paint.

TRIPLE THREAT The scaly-foot gastropod (shown) uses a unique trilayered shell to protect itself from crab attacks, high temperatures and acidic waters in its deep-sea home in the Indian Ocean.