They look like what you'd get if God rolled the ocean into a gleaming little gem. The half-dome shaped jewels -- swirls of creamy pinks, greens, blues and sometimes even golds -- are prized for their ...

Mother-of-pearl looks dainty hanging from a necklace, but this iridescent innard of abalone shells is so tough it can withstand the weight of a truck. Also called nacre, the material has long puzzled ...

Apparently, engineering researchers at the University of California, San Diego do. They are using the shell of the red abalone, a seaweed eating snail, as a guide for developing bullet-stopping armor.