helical

Researchers used the powerful Leonardo supercomputer at CINECA, a supercomputing center in Italy, to create a highly realistic 3D replica of the sponge, containing around 100 billion individual points that recreate the sponge's complex helical ridge structure.

The asymmetric, helical ridges may even inspire low-drag hulls or fuselages that stay streamlined while promoting interior air flows.

Helical swimming is nothing new in biology, Sutherland said.

With Sutherland's new and innovative methods of studying sea creatures, scientists might come to realize that helical swimming is more pervasive than previously thought.

"The helical twist of these fibers is impossible to discern using an optical microscope, or even some super-resolution microscopes, because these things are just too small," Lew said.