All articles tagged with #biomineralization
Chinese scientists have discovered that the fern Blechnum orientale can naturally biomineralize rare-earth elements, offering a sustainable and environmentally friendly method for extracting these critical resources through phytomining, which could revolutionize the supply chain for high-tech industries.
Scientists discovered that Norway spruce trees near a Finnish gold mine contain gold nanoparticles in their needles, facilitated by symbiotic bacteria called endophytes, which may help in gold exploration efforts, although the gold amounts are tiny.
New research on Ediacaran fossils in Namibia reveals the origins of biomineralization, a vital chemical process that led to the expansion of life on Earth. Fossil skeletons of Cloudina, tubular structures made of carbonate cones, were found dating back to 551-550 million years ago. Geochemical analysis of the rocks suggests that Cloudina originated in a low oxygen environment with periods of higher oxygenation. The study supports the idea that skeletonization was driven by the instability of the marine environment and the opportunistic colonization of short-lived periods of respiration during oxygenation.
Researchers at the University of Notre Dame have accidentally discovered a low-cost method to enhance the effectiveness of existing drugs by loading them into thermally-modified silica particles. The altered particles can retain chemicals and control their release rate, providing an avenue for improved drug delivery systems and a new understanding of biomineralization. The discovery offers a new tool for making existing drugs more effective and has the potential to create new versions of existing drugs that could be more effective or have fewer unwanted side effects.