In the marvelously sensitive eyes of mantis shrimps, scientists have found cells that could inspire an overhaul of humanity’s comparatively clumsy communications hardware. Mechanical analogs of their eyes “are among the most important and commonly used optical components, and the cellular structure we describe significantly outperforms these current optics,” write researchers in a study published Sunday in Nature Photonics.
Mantis shrimps are reef-dwelling marine crustaceans who trace their evolutionary lineage straight back to the Cambrian age 500 million years ago, before vertebrates had even evolved. They’re so biologically unique that biologists call them “shrimps from Mars.”
They possess the animal kingdom’s most complicated eyes, capable of distinguishing between 100,000 colors — 10 times as many as humans — and seeing circular polarized light, or CPL, which can’t be detected by any other creature.
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