Escutoide, the fascinating new geometric form discovered in nature

The discovery surprised the researchers: a geometric shape that they had never seen.

While studying the embryonic development of animals, a group of scientists discovered that epithelial cells multiplied, stacked, and formed strangely.

And they gave this form that they did not recognize the name " escutoid ", because of its similarities with a part of the thorax of some insects that's called " escutelo ". "We were trying to understand how epithelial tissues are organized, which are very important cells during embryonic development and that we have a lot of organs like the liver, the pancreas and the digestive tract," he said. he told BBC World. Luis M. Escudero, a researcher at the Institute of Biomedicine in Seville, Spain, and one of the authors of the new study published in the journal Nature Communications .

"These epithelial tissues are cells that are packed, which are all close together and, because of technical difficulties, it is difficult to know exactly how they are packed in three dimensions," says Escudero, also a professor in the Department of Medicine. Cell Biology of the University of Seville.

"So, what we did in my lab was to design a model for calculating a tube, which was a three-dimensional but computational curved fabric, it was not real. E The computer model predicted a geometrical form that was not described and we gave this geometric form the name of escutoid. "

" We work with insects and are very used to seeing them. you can really see how the geometric shape reminds a lot to the chest of some beetles " added

Different from a prism

The model prediction was later confirmed to to study the tissue structure of several animals

How to describe an escutoid?

One of the simplest forms, according to Escudero, is that an escutoid is characterized by curved surfaces and at least one top in a plane different from that of the two bases

"Simplified, is like a prism in which there is a peak in the middle . Because the prisms have all the summits at the bases, both at the bottom and at the top, and these summits are joined from top to bottom forming the lateral faces of the prism, "explains the professor at the University of Seville. 19659002] " But the escutoid, if greatly simplified, would have at least one more vertex ."

On the other hand, the prisms do not have any curved surfaces and that is what makes the escutoid is different. In the escutoid, the side faces may be concave or convex and, therefore, the escaroids fit together and leave no space between them. "

" Right now we've put a more formal definition in Wikipedia but simplified it, but the easiest thing is to see the picture, "says L & # 39; expert.

Less energy expenditure

The advantage of the escutoid is that it confers on epithelial cells more stability and energy efficiency, according to Escudero

adopt this for my, the cells spend to n less energy when a fabric has to maintain a curved structure, "explained the Spanish scientist