Scientist discovers how leafbirds make complex color-producing crystals

[PhysOrg]

A recent study by a team of researchers led by Dr. Vinod Kumar Saranathan from the Division of Science at Yale-NUS College has discovered a complex, three-dimensional crystal called the single gyroid within feathers of the blue-winged leafbird. Dr. Saranathan and his team's breakthrough came from their investigation of the feather colors of leafbirds, an enigmatic group of perching birds endemic to South and Southeast Asia (including Singapore), one species of which has evolved the unique crystals in its plumage.

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