Publications by authors named "Justin Couvrette"
Article Synopsis
- The study explores how certain cephalopods, like squids, use specialized skin cells (iridophores and leucophores) with a protein called reflectin to create vibrant colors through light reflection.
- Researchers face challenges in accurately measuring the refractive indices of these biological materials in different environments.
- By combining experimental and computational methods, this research aims to better understand how squid skin functions and to enhance techniques for analyzing protein-based optical materials using advanced microscopy.
Although many animals have evolved intrinsic transparency for the purpose of concealment, the development of dynamic, that is, controllable and reversible, transparency for living human cells and tissues has remained elusive to date. Here, by drawing inspiration from the structures and functionalities of adaptive cephalopod skin cells, we design and engineer human cells that contain reconfigurable protein-based photonic architectures and, as a result, possess tunable transparency-changing and light-scattering capabilities. Our findings may lead to the development of unique biophotonic tools for applications in materials science and bioengineering and may also facilitate an improved understanding of a wide range of biological systems.
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