"The ironclad is a terrestrial beetle, so it's not lightweight and fast but built more like a little tank," said David Kisailus, a professor of materials science and engineering at the University of California, Irvine and co-author on the study, in a release. … To study the tiny tanks, a member of the research team, Jesus Rivera, captured beetles and brought them back to the lab. First, researchers discovered the beetle's exoskeleton could withstand around 150 newtons of force -- 39,000 times its body weight. Read More