Scientists developing new materials are studying an unlikely source of strength: a beetle that can withstand being run over by a car. Researchers from Purdue University and the University of California, Irvine, studied the aptly named diabolical ironclad beetle -- Phloeodes diabolicus -- to understand the secret behind its strength. Read More

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The diabolical ironclad beetle, which dwells in desert regions of western North America, has a distinctly hard-to-squish shape. “Unlike a stink beetle, or a Namibian beetle, which is more rounded … it’s low to the ground [and] it’s flat on top,” says David Kisailus, a materials scientist at the University of California, Irvine. In compression experiments, Kisailus and colleagues found that the beetle could withstand around 39,000 times its own body weight.

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And scientists have just used a suite of tools to discover the physical and mechanical properties that give the diabolical ironclad beetle its incredible fortitude. "The ironclad is a terrestrial beetle, so it's not lightweight and fast but built more like a little tank," said materials scientist David Kisailus of the University of California Irvine.