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Henry Astley, an assistant professor at the University of Akron’s Biomimicry Research and Innovation Center who teaches a course dedicated to the real-world biology that inspires fictional monsters, says that the pairing of a softer skin with protective plates that Herbert describes in his novels is definitely more snakelike than wormlike.

“There's a kind of biomimicry going on here, that once the virus is broken down these pieces are actually active and they can assemble with double-stranded RNA that's commonly found in viral infections,” Gerard Wong, corresponding author and a professor in microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics at the University of California-Los Angeles, told Salon in an interview.

"This opens a promising new window for using biomimicry to process these insoluble cellulosic materials in a greener way."

According to Peloza, there’s even a fancy word for nature-inspired design: biomimicry.

"One of the approaches that we are looking at is how you break down these complicated materials, and in a way that actually gets rid of the toxic effects of dyes and coating," says Beth Rattner, the executive director of the Montana-based Biomimicry Institute.