Sea Urchin Teeth Are Designed to Grind Stone | The Institute for Creation Research

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Sea urchins are spiny marine animals. Some of them like to hide in holes that they dig out of limestone in the ocean floor, using teeth that are ground down and yet remain sharp. What makes these teeth so special that they can drill through rock and not go blunt?

Israeli scientists found remarkably precise and efficient construction when they took a close look at the sea urchins’ teeth. Using various high resolution imaging techniques, they saw tiny edges of magnesium calcite crystals exposed on the tooth surfaces. The sea urchins manufacture these crystals so that as the tooth wears down, it exposes new sharp crystal corners. These self-sharpening teeth may inspire “the design of better mechanical grinding and cutting tools.”1

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