Today's Globe: ancient armor, nanoparticle regulations, vital signs relay

The next advance in body armor may come from the scales of a 96-million-year-old fish. The grasping jaws and piercing claws of hungry predators may seem a far cry from bullets and shrapnel, but MIT researchers funded by the US Army reported yesterday that the rigid, interlocking scales of a primitive fish sometimes called the "dinosaur eel" could provide insights for protecting soldiers in the future.

The City of Cambridge should not enact an ordinance to regulate the use of super-small "nanoparticles," according to a report to be released today by the city's public health department. Instead, the city should collect information on a voluntary basis from businesses and researchers who work with nanoparticles, the report says.

Harvard professor Matt Welsh has developed a wearable radio relay, or mote, which can collect and transmit an unbroken stream of vital signs to help doctors make better decisions in the emergency room (third item).