Work

The crystalline style of molluscs: the nonlinear dynamics of a macroscale rotating structure in biology

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: We investigate the biophysics of crystalline style rotation in molluscs. We show that its efficient functioning as a type of food processor and mixer suggests a mechanism determined by the nonlinear physics of the variation in the rotation rate of the style. The crystalline style of molluscs is perhaps the only example above the cellular level of continuous rotation of a body part in animals.

Source: Journal of The Royal Society Interface

DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2025.1232

Authors: Sergio Testón-Martínez, Louise Lavictoire, Antonio G. Checa, C. Ignacio Sainz-Díaz, Julyan H. E. Cartwright

Institutions: Universidad de Granada, Instituto Andaluz de Ciencias de la Tierra, Freshwater Biological Association

Language: English

Topic: Calcium Carbonate Crystallization and Inhibition

Subfield: Biomaterials

Field: Materials Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Funders: Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades, Universidad de Granada, European Regional Development Fund, Agencia Estatal de Investigación