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Search results for biomineralization

Bio & Medicine Mar 26, 2024

A nanoscale look at how shells and coral form reveals that biomineralization is more complex than imagined

Exactly how does coral make its skeleton, a sea urchin grow a spine, or an abalone form the mother-of-pearl in its shell? A new study at the Advanced Light Source at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory ...

Evolution Apr 18, 2024

Scientists construct organo-phosphatic shells of brachiopods

Biomineralized columns, stacked in layers like a sandwich gave Cambrian brachiopod shells their strength and flexibility 520 million years ago.

Plants & Animals Mar 7, 2024

New technique may help scientists stave off coral reef collapse

In a bit of biological magic, some tiny, jellyfish-like creatures learned eons ago how to weave seawater into durable, life-sustaining, rocky coral reefs, which provide billions in economic benefits.

Biotechnology Mar 25, 2024

A microalgae–material hybrid promotes carbon neutrality

Microalgae, including cyanobacteria and green algae, represent the most important biological systems for producing biomass and high-value products. It is estimated that microalgae can fix about 90 billion tons of carbon dioxide ...

Biochemistry Jan 12, 2024

New research deciphers biomineralization mechanism

Many organisms can produce minerals or mineralized tissue. A well-known example is nacre, which is used in jewelry because of its iridescent colors. Chemically speaking, its formation begins with a mollusk extracting calcium ...

Earth Sciences Sep 24, 2023

Ediacaran fossils reveal origins of biomineralization that led to expansion of life on Earth

Life on Earth began from a single-celled microbe, while the rise to the multicellular world in which we live arose due a vital chemical process known as biomineralization, during which living organisms produce hardened mineralized ...

Evolution Jun 22, 2023

Glass sponge genome furnishes insights into evolution of biomineralization

Researchers led by geobiologist Professor Gert Wörheide have decoded the genome of Aphrocallistes vastus, a reef-building glass sponge found off the coast of British Columbia. The sponge possesses a unique skeletal structure ...

Cell & Microbiology Nov 2, 2022

Exploring the key gene networks that control magnetite biomineralization in prokaryotes

Magnetotactic bacteria (MTB) are phylogenetically and morphologically diverse prokaryotes that share an ancestral capability of producing intracellular magnetite (Fe3O4) or/and greigite (Fe3S4) nanocrystals within organelles ...

Biochemistry Nov 20, 2019

Stabilizing a cliff using biomineral binders

EPFL spin-off Medusoil has successfully tested its ground-stabilization process on cliffs subject to surface erosion. The company's biomineral-based solution can be used to stabilize sandy and gravelly subsoils to safeguard ...

Plants & Animals Sep 24, 2019

Crystal growth kinetics and its link to evolution: New findings about biomineralization in molluscan shells

The research group of Dr. Igor Zlotnikov from the Center for Molecular Bioengineering (B CUBE) of TU Dresden demonstrate in its latest publication that the physics of materials has a strong impact on the possible structures ...

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