Human Body
How Bones Work: Living Tissue, Remodeling, Marrow, and Why Bone Beats Steel by Weight
A cubic centimeter of compact bone can withstand about 170 megapascals of compressive stress — comparable to reinforced concrete, at a fraction of the weight. But unlike concrete, bone is alive. It has its own blood supply, repairs cracks autonomously, completely replaces its mineral matrix every 10 years, and simultaneously serves as the body's primary calcium reservoir and the factory producing every blood cell in your body. Here is how it all works.