Why Don't Birds Turn Grey?

The secrets of why birds never grey have been revealed, leading to hopes for the creation of clothes that never fade.

16:28 22 December 2015

Scientists from Sheffield University have discovered why birds never go grey, raising prospect for clothes that never fade. Their research revealed that birds use sophisticated changes to the structure of their feathers to create a multi-coloured appearance.

 

A close examination of the blue and white feathers of the Jay showed that the birds use well-controlled changes to the nanostructure to create their vividly coloured feathers.

 

Dr Andrew Parnell, from Sheffield's Department of Physics and Astronomy said: "If nature can assemble this material 'on the wing', then we should be able to do it synthetically too.

 

"This discovery means that in the future, we could create long-lasting coloured coatings and materials synthetically.

 

"By adjusting the size and density of the holes in the spongy like structure - that determines what colour is reflected.

 

"Current technology cannot make colour with this level of control and precision - we still use dyes and pigments.

 

"Now we've learnt how nature accomplishes it, we can start to develop new materials such as clothes or paints using these Nanostructuring approaches.

 

"It would potentially mean that if we created a red jumper using this method, it would retain its colour and never fade in the wash."