A revolutionary nanostructure that is derived from very simple organic elements yet is as strong as steel has been developed in Israel.

The ball-shaped nanostructure could be used to make numerous products, including durable composite materials; bullet-proof vests; medical implants that are not metallic; reinforced plastics for tooth implants; as well as those for the space, aviation and transportation industries. according to a report by Jerusalem Post Health and Science Correspondent Judy Siegel-Itzkovich.

The new nanostructure has been developed and characterized at the laboratories of Prof. Ehud Gazit of Tel Aviv University, Dr. Itay Rousso and Nitzan Kol of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot and David Barlam and Roni Shneck at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Beersheba.

Wiley-VCH’s leading journal Angewandte Chemie has just published an article about the groundbreaking work.

The Israeli team’s advance is significant because it managed to produce biocomposite nanospheres that are as rigid as metal, for the first time. It says that the material is mechanically equal and even superior to many metallic substances and is a perfect building block for numerous applications.

The impressive discovery joins others by Israel’s nanotech scientists and engineers.