Biological materials are typically multifunctional but many have evolved to optimize a chief
mechanical function. These functions include impact or fracture resistance, armor and …

Many biological tissues, such as wood and bone, are fiber composites with a hierarchical
structure. Their exceptional mechanical properties are believed to be due to a functional …

The fracture behaviour of artificial metamaterials often leads to catastrophic failures with
limited resistance to crack propagation. In contrast, natural materials such as bones and …

Few engineering materials are limited by their strength; rather they are limited by their
resistance to fracture or fracture toughness. It is not by accident that most critical structures …

One of the most intriguing protein materials found in nature is bone, a material composed of
assemblies of tropocollagen molecules and tiny hydroxyapatite mineral crystals that form an …

The maturation of nanotechnology has revealed it to be a unique and distinct discipline
rather than a specialization within a larger field. Its textbook cannot afford to be a chemistry …

Bone is more difficult to break than to split. Although this is well known, and many studies
exist on the behaviour of long cracks in bone, there is a need for data on the orientation …

It is well known that bone loss accompanies aging in both men and women and contributes
to skeletal fragility in the older population, but changes that occur to the bone tissue matrix …

Toughness is crucial to the structural function of bone. Usually, the toughness of a material is
not just determined by its composition, but by the ability of its microstructure to dissipate …

Background Hip fracture risk rises 100 to 1000-fold over 60 years of ageing. Loss of
resistance to bending is not a major feature of normal ageing of the femoral neck. Another …