A nearly insatiable demand for mother-of-pearl to make buttons in the early 1900s even pushed some species to the brink of extinction. But it didn't stop with translucent buttons.

It also has an iridescent shine that's similar to real mother-of-pearl, they say. Scientists have long studied how to replicate mother-of-pearl because it is lightweight, resists fractures better ...

Mother of pearl is the coating found on the outside of pearls, and the inside of certain mollusc’s shells. It's one of nature's hardest, stiffest, most stable materials – and scientists have ...