Navigation Links
Dental delight: Tooth of sea urchin shows formation of biominerals
Date:12/22/2009

MADISON Some of the most common minerals in biology, including those in bones and shells, have a mysterious structure: Their crystals are positioned in the same orientation, making them behave as one giant crystal, even though they do not look like a faceted crystal.

It's as if grains of salt were spilled on a rug, yet instead of landing randomly, all wound up with exactly the same angle and rotation.

In a new study in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, Pupa Gilbert, a professor of physics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, has explained this seemingly miraculous feat of nature.

Gilbert and colleagues, including postdoctoral researcher Christopher Killian and biomineral expert Joanna Aizenberg of Harvard University, studied the tooth of the purple sea urchin. Gilbert adds that the same process may occur in mollusk shells and in the bones and teeth of vertebrate animals.

"Many of these biominerals are highly co-oriented," Gilbert says. "If you look at the nanometer scale, the crystals share a single orientation. But they are separate from each other, which raises an interesting question: How do they orient, how do they come to behave as if they were single crystals?"

The sea urchin is a common marine animal that eats algae and small animals and lives in tide pools or shallow water. Urchins use their five long teeth to grind away rock to make a shallow pocket where they can live protected behind a wreath of sharp, bony spines.

Gilbert's fascination with the urchin's tooth follows a long tradition: Aristotle, the Greek naturalist and philosopher, wrote about the urchin in about 343 BC. Indeed, the teeth are held in a "jaw" called "Aristotle's lantern."

The crystal in an urchin's tooth originates as a powdery, wet, "amorphous" form of the common mineral calcium carbonate, the major constituent of limestone.

As Gilbert studied the teeth using a high-resolution X-ray mi
'/>"/>

Contact: Pupa Gilbert
pupa@physics.wisc.edu
608-262-5829
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Source:Eurekalert

0

GOOD

Page: 1 2 3

Related biology news :

1. Small-scale fishing in Mexico rivals industrial fisheries in accidental turtle deaths
2. Dental chair a possible source of neurotoxic mercury waste
3. NYU dental professor discovers biological clock linking tooth growth to other metabolic processes
4. SAGE-Hindawi launch Journal of Dental Biomechanics
5. Lower your blood pressure, hydrate your skin and reduce dental plaque -- with chocolate?
6. Eastman Dental Center awarded $1.6 million to find ways to prevent cavities
7. New generation of orthopedic, dental and cardiovascular prostheses
8. Accidental discovery produces durable new blue pigment for multiple applications
9. Tooth Bank seeks milk teeth from 100,000 children
10. Tooth loss strongly linked to risk of esophageal, head and neck, and lung cancer
11. Blue light used to harden tooth fillings stunts tumor growth
Post Your Comments:
*Name:
*Comment:
*Email:
(Date:5/21/2013)... scientists have developed many devices that can reopen clogged ... effective, each of these treatments has drawbacks, including the ... MIT analyzes the potential usefulness of a new treatment ... stents, but may pose fewer risks. With this new ... only a brief period, during which it releases a ...
(Date:5/21/2013)... which alter the way genes function without changing ... in the blood of pregnant women during any ... depression in the weeks after giving birth, and ... , The findings of the small study involving ... journal Molecular Psychiatry . , "Postpartum depression ...
(Date:5/20/2013)... lungs of the planet, inhales carbon dioxide as it exudes ... parts that eventually fall to the ground to decompose or ... Until recently people believed much of the rain forest,s carbon ... the ocean. University of Washington research showed a decade ago ... left open the question of how that was possible, since ...
Breaking Biology News(10 mins):Evaluating a new way to open clogged arteries 2Evaluating a new way to open clogged arteries 3Genetic predictors of postpartum depression uncovered by Hopkins researchers 2Genetic predictors of postpartum depression uncovered by Hopkins researchers 3Amazon River exhales virtually all carbon taken up by rain forest 2Amazon River exhales virtually all carbon taken up by rain forest 3
... , This release is available in ... shapes, sizes and colors-including tubers with red, yellow, orange ... Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists in Prosser, Wash., are ... analytical procedures for rapidly detecting and measuring phytonutrient concentrations ...
... Ten years ago, ocean acidification was a phenomenon ... now recognised as the hidden partner of climate change, ... emissions to reduce future impacts. The ,Impacts of ... Science Foundation on 20 May for European Maritime Day ...
... hammerhead sharks probably appeared abruptly in Earth,s oceans about ... some contemporary hammerheads, according to a new study led ... once the hammerhead evolved, it underwent divergent evolution in ... and the distinctive hammer-like head of the fish changing ...
Cached Biology News:Europe's scientists call for more effort in tackling rising ocean acidity 2Hammerhead shark study shows cascade of evolution affected size, head shape 2Hammerhead shark study shows cascade of evolution affected size, head shape 3Hammerhead shark study shows cascade of evolution affected size, head shape 4
(Date:5/21/2013)... 21, 2013  MacroGenics, Inc. today announced that ... (MGAH22), an Fc-modified chimeric monoclonal antibody (MAb), in ... oncoprotein," will be presented at the 2013 Annual ... during the Developmental Therapeutics - Immunotherapy Oral Abstract ... 4:30 PM.  The presentation will describe the results ...
(Date:5/21/2013)... (PRWEB) May 21, 2013 Revolutionary Science, ... automatic colony counter, announced today that they have expanded ... products , the IncuCount, IntelliCount, InCount and ImpressCount. ... sophistication are especially useful in food microbiology and pharmaceutical ... an updated look. A bright white enclosure with ...
(Date:5/21/2013)... 2013 Possible mold re-infestation in Guilemtte School ... a report from eagletribune.com posted May 14, 2013, the state ... result is positive, My Cleaning Products offered a tip ... , It was said in the Eagle Tribune report (5.14.13) ... campus sparked after a first-grade classroom was closed due to ...
(Date:5/21/2013)... Clinovo's new “CDISC Standards: Theory and ... on June 11th, 2013. The TechTrainings are technical hands-on ... next step in their professional career. The class will ... streamed online. , Taught by Sy Truong, President at ... Standards: Theory and Application” class will give an overview ...
Breaking Biology Technology:MacroGenics Announces Margetuximab (MGAH22) Phase 1 Data Presentation at ASCO; Initiates Phase 2 Clinical Study to Evaluate Activity of Margetuximab in Patients with Metastatic Breast Cancer 2MacroGenics Announces Margetuximab (MGAH22) Phase 1 Data Presentation at ASCO; Initiates Phase 2 Clinical Study to Evaluate Activity of Margetuximab in Patients with Metastatic Breast Cancer 3Revolutionary Science Announces New Automatic and Manual Colony Counting Products 2Possible Mold Re-infestation Gets Guilmette School Scheduled for Re-inspection, My Cleaning Products Offers Tip How to Kill Mold Safely If Inspection Turns Positive 2Possible Mold Re-infestation Gets Guilmette School Scheduled for Re-inspection, My Cleaning Products Offers Tip How to Kill Mold Safely If Inspection Turns Positive 3Clinovo Launches TechTrainings on CDISC Standards 2
... Nov. 11 An investor group in Trinity,Biotech plc ... manufacturer of,diagnostic products whose shares are traded in the ... a campaign for,conversion of company ADRs to ordinary shares ... a change in the board., This campaign follows ...
... Pa., Nov. 11 /Xinhua-PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- BMP,Sunstone Corporation (Nasdaq: ... announced that due to the technical difficulties encountered ... second call tomorrow,Wednesday, November 12, 2008. On this ... ask questions since technical difficulties prevented the,Company from ...
... and Manufacturing Facilities ... Outside of Boulder, Colo., ... named Laurence Rea vice president of operations, according to Ryan,Ashton, ... life,sciences company developing novel, point-of-care molecular diagnostic,solutions. Rea will be ...
Cached Biology Technology:BMP Sunstone to Host Follow-Up 3Q08 Conference Call Due to Technical Difficulties Encountered on Tuesday's Call 2BMP Sunstone to Host Follow-Up 3Q08 Conference Call Due to Technical Difficulties Encountered on Tuesday's Call 3Great Basin Scientific, Inc. Names Laurence Rea as Vice President of Operations 2
...
Synaptic Vesicle I Sampler Kit 10g each...
... phase reagent for Virus ... & unique water insoluble ... detergents and chaotropes; Engineered ... non-envelop viruses while preserving ...
Ubiquitin Related I Sampler Kit 10 mu g each...
Biology Products: