Also of interest:

Decoding the structure of bone

[URL unfurl="true"]http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2013/decoding-the-structure-of-bone-0416.html[/URL]

MIT researchers decipher the molecular basis of bone’s remarkable strength and resiliency; work could lead to new treatments and materials.

The bones that support our bodies are made of remarkably complex arrangements of materials — so much so that decoding the precise structure responsible for their great strength and resilience has eluded scientists’ best efforts for decades.

But now, a team of researchers at MIT has finally unraveled the structure of bone with almost atom-by-atom precision, after many years of analysis by some of the world’s most powerful computers and comparison with laboratory experiments to confirm the computed results. The findings, from a team led by civil engineer and materials scientist Markus Buehler, are published this week in the journal Nature Communications.