Unlike clams, the heart cockle doesn't need to open wide to bask in the sun. It has a clever trick up its shell: tiny, transparent windows.
Compared to its clam cousins, the heart cockle doesn’t need to open wide to bask in the sun. It has a clever trick up its shell: tiny, “transparent windows.” Interestingly, a symbiotic relationship flourishes inside the shells of these creatures.
Photosynthetic algae, the cockle’s roommates, provide food in exchange for a safe home. But to photosynthesize, they need light. Surprisingly, these shells have translucent windows that allow sunlight to penetrate, providing the necessary energy for the algae’s photosynthetic process. “In bivalves, giant clams gape open to irradiate their symbionts, but heart cockles stay closed because sunlight passes through transparent windows in their shells,” the researchers wrote in the study paper. The researchers suggest that their findings could inspire advancements in fiber optic cable technology.The shell is made of aragonite, a crystalline form of calcium carbonate. But the window areas are special. Here, the aragonite forms into long, fibrous crystals, acting like tiny fiber optic cables — similar to how telecommunications companies utilize fiber optics for high-speed internet. These natural fibers not only transmit light efficiently but also filter out harmful UV rays, protecting the delicate algae. They discovered that the side of the shell facing the sun is designed to efficiently transmit light. This special design allows more than twice the amount of beneficial, photosynthetic light to pass through compared to harmful UV rays that can damage DNA. This unique adaptation ensures that the algae living inside the cockle receive optimal light conditions for photosynthesis while being protected from damaging UV radiation. “Heart cockles transmit 11–62% of photosynthetically active radiation but only 5–28% of potentially harmful UV radiation to their symbionts,” the study noted. Interestingly, this discovery marks the first known instance of bundled fiber optic structures within a living organism. These walnut-sized heart cockles thrive in shallow waters across the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Their shells are dotted with minute, transparent structures, resembling tiny windows. Laboratory experiments demonstrated that these structures allowed twice the amount of light to pass through compared to simple windows. The researchers believe that the unique properties of aragonite could be used to create new materials with exceptional optical performance.Mrigakshi Dixit Mrigakshi is a science journalist who enjoys writing about space exploration, biology, and technological innovations. Her work has been featured in well-known publications including Nature India, Supercluster, The Weather Channel and Astronomy magazine. If you have pitches in mind, please do not hesitate to email her.
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