Researchers discover new shape scutoid

■ 3D shape formed when cells are bent, packed together for most efficiency

Pennsylvania, July 28: A new geometric shape called scutoid was discovered by researchers. They said it was hiding in plain sight.

The three- dimensional shape, is formed when cells are bent and packed together to organise with the most efficiency, as opposed to the column or bottle- like shapes.

Cells give rise to embryos and can be found lining our organs and blood vessels. Epithelial cells are the building blocks of embryonic development, and must endure the twisting and packing that happens as organs form.

Researchers found the process relied on a shape undescribed earlier, allowing cells to maintain maximum stability while conserving energy.

They used computational modelling based on Voronoi diagramming to examine this closely.

Javier Buceta, from Lehigh University said the results they saw were weird during the modelling process,

“Our model predicted that as the curvature of the tissue increases, columns and bottle- shapes were not the only shapes that cells may develop. To our surprise the additional shape didn’t even have a name in math. One does not normally have the opportunity to name a new shape,” he said.

The team analysed the 3D packing of tissues in different animals, and found they adopted shapes predicted by the model.

They’re calling the newly identified shape the scutoid after the shieldlike scutellum of a beetle’s thorax. “We have unlocked nature’s solution to achieving efficient epithelial bending,” Buceta said.

Researchers said the shape makes for the most energy- efficient method of cell organisation. It was earlier thought the cells take on a columnar or bottlelike shape as they pack together.

The discovery could prove beneficial in tissue engineering, the researchers said.