Biocomposites: micromechanics of biological hard tissues

Progress towards understanding the micromechanics of hard tissues such as bone has been hampered by lack of detailed understanding of its microstructures; however, this shortfall is being rapidly reduced. The study of toughening mechanisms brought about by microcracking is just starting to yield results, but awaits quantification. Scant progress has been made in the interesting area of the analysis of the micromechanics of invertebrate hard tissues.