Epithelial cells, which cover the surfaces of many organs, adopt a previously undescribed geometric shape - the scutoid - so that the tissue can curve, scientists have found.
The epithelial cells adopt this form which looks like ‘twisted prisms’, according to the research published in the journal Nature Communications.
These new and beautiful shapes are the solution that nature has found to fold and curve the epithelia, which lines the outer surfaces of organs, researchers said.
The epithelial cells are the construction blocks with which an organism is formed. They are like ‘pieces of Tente or Lego’ from which animals are made.Luisma Escudero, University of Seville, Spain