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Biomaterials

Recipe for squid beak

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The molecular basis of biomaterial assembly and function can provide inspiration for new materials science designs. New research explains the squid beak's transition from soft to hard through the identification of two new families of proteins with unusual physical properties.

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Figure 1: The proteins that make up the beak of the jumbo squid.

Katie Vicari/Nature Publishing Group

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Correspondence to Markus B Linder.

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The author declares no competing financial interests.

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Linder, M. Recipe for squid beak. Nat Chem Biol 11, 455–456 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nchembio.1842

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