Natural selection in an extreme environment has gradually sculpted the giant clam into an exceedingly efficient farmer; it turns the fierce sunlight in its equatorial ocean home into algae, and those single-celled plants into food.
Two Penn (Professor Alison Sweeney in the Department of Physics & Astronomy, and Professor Shu Yang in the Department of Material Science & Engineering) the researchers are teaming up to unlock the secrets of this living greenhouse and use it as a blueprint for new materials that harvest solar energy or convert it to biofuel.
To read more on this story, visit http://www.upenn.edu/pennnews/current/2014-09-11/latest-news/giant-clams-inspire-penn-duo%E2%80%99s-alternative-energy-research