Scientists have identified a new shape called scutoid while studying epithelial cells.
Epithelial tissue is one of four kinds of tissue that forms a human body which acts as a safety shield of the body that makes up cell walls lining our blood vessels and organs.
The scutoid shape has five sides on one end and six on the other and a triangular surface on one of its longer edges.
It is completely new to geometry and resembles beetle’s scutellum (shield-like structure) from a top-down view.
As tissues and organs develop, epithelial cells squish together, twisting and turning into highly efficient and complex 3-D structures of scutoid shape.
This complex shape help block microbes from entering our skin or organs. It also makes the packing stable and “energetically efficient.”