Belcher said any commercialization of products resulting from her research would be some years away. The next research step will be working with the materials to try to integrate them into electronic devices. The new field of biocomposites appears to overturn some of the basic concepts most people have about a natural world divided among animals, vegetables and minerals. Actually, the dividing lines between what is considered biological and what is considered mineral always have been fuzzier than is commonly assumed. Biocomposite materials have been in existence for millions of years.
All mammals produce tough, flexible bone and cartilage.
Slimy, non-vertebrate sea creatures surround themselves with protective shells. Human bodies contain bones, teeth, fingernails and hair that are not, strictly speaking, biological in origin. Belcher did her Ph.D. work on seashells, finding that a shell, which is 98 percent inorganic and 2 percent protein, is an excellent example of the link between inorganic and biological materials. Belcher said her researchers went through 100 million viruses before slowly determining which ones worked best with certain materials. She said various virus and semiconductor combinations were tried.