Proteus: Scientists create first ever non-cuttable manufactured material, inspired by grapefruits and shells

New material said to act more like living structure than inanimate object

Footage shows an angle grinder attack on the Proteus material (SWNS/Dr Rene Vogel)

Engineers are hailing the creation of the first ever manufactured material which cannot be cut, inspired by the natural defence mechanisms of shells, grapefruit skins, and fish scales capable of resisting piranha attacks.

The lightweight material was able to indefinitely resist any cutting or drilling tools used in tests, blunting them by using their own power against them, the developers said in a paper published in the journal Scientific Reports.

The new creation – named Proteus after the shape-changing Greek water god – acts more like a living structure than an inanimate object, they suggested.