Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "Conch shells may inspire better helmets, body armor." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 26 May 2017. <www.sciencedaily.com / releases / 2017 / 05 / 170526143713.htm>.

The conch shell is made of the same material as chalk, but unlike the crumbly rock, it's one of the toughest materials out there. If we can understand why it's so tough, we can mimic it to create ...

By arranging them in a conch-like structure, we could improve on materials we already rely on. These could be used in body armor or sports helmets.

The printing technology would make it possible to form the conch-inspired material into individualized helmets or body armor. Each helmet, for example, could be “tailored and personalized,” Gu ...

Conch shells "have this really unique architecture," Gu explains. The structure makes the material 10 times tougher than nacre, commonly known as mother of pearl.