To build better fiber optic cables, ask a clam

Since the first fiber optic cables rolled out in the 1970s, they've become a major part of everything from medical devices to high-speed internet and cable TV. But as it turns out, one group of marine mollusks was way ahead of us. A new study reveals that clams called heart cockles have unique structures in their shells that act like fiber optic cables to convey specific wavelengths of light into the bivalves' tissues.