Biominerals and their amorphous precursors
Date and Time
February 24, 2015
12:00PM - 12:00PM EST
Location
Haller Hall, GM 102
Please join us for the Spring 2015 Paleobiology Seminar
(jointly hosted by OEB and EPS)
12PM, Tuesday, February 24
Haller Hall, GM 102
Dr. Pupa Gilbert
UW-Madison/Radcliffe Fellow, Harvard
“Biominerals and their amorphous precursors"
Organisms harness mineral chemistry and physics to form biominerals for their evolutionary advantage. How they do it is the question here. 20-nm resolution data reveal 3 distinct mineral phases in forming sea urchin spicules. We observe the same sequence of phases and phase transitions in space, in time, in energy. This sequence may explain how crystalline skeletal elements manage to grow faster and larger than geologic or synthetic crystals.
Please feel free to bring your own lunch!