U.S. President Barack Obama gives the commencement address to the graduating class of The Ohio State University at Ohio Stadium on May 5, 2013 in Columbus, Ohio.
Just 10 micrometers in diameter, the needlelike spicule from the sea squirt Herdmania momus helped researchers in Israel and Wisconsin unlock the crystal structure of vaterite, a geologic and biogenic mineral whose structural secrets have stymied scientists for almost 100 years.
