How Coccoliths Get Their Patterns (IMAGE)

American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

How Coccoliths Get Their Patterns

Caption

Micrograph of a single coccolith. A coccolith is a composite material composed of organic material and a mineral (calcium carbonate). Result of an in vitro reconstitution experiment starting for the organic remains of a coccolith (obtained by dissolution of the mineral component) and calcium ions. This material relates to a paper that appeared in the Aug. 5, 2016 issue of Science, published by AAAS. The paper, by A. Gal at Max-Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces in Potsdam-Golm, Germany, and colleagues was titled, 'Macromolecular recognition directs calcium ions to coccolith mineralization sites.'

Credit

Dr. A. Gal and Dr. A. Scheffel

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