Interfacial reactions drive all elemental cycling on Earth and play pivotal roles in human
activities such as agriculture, water purification, energy production and storage …

BACKGROUND Numerous lines of evidence challenge the traditional interpretations of how
crystals nucleate and grow in synthetic and natural systems. In contrast to the monomer-by …

Calcium carbonate (CaCO3) biomineralizing organisms have played major roles in the
history of life and the global carbon cycle during the past 541 Ma. Both marine diversification …

Do corals form their skeletons by precipitation from solution or by attachment of amorphous
precursor particles as observed in other minerals and biominerals? The classical model …

Many biomineral crystals form complex non-equilibrium shapes, often via transient
amorphous precursors. Also in vitro crystals can be grown with non-equilibrium …

Microscopy has gone hand in hand with the study of living systems since van Leeuwenhoek
observed living microorganisms and cells in 1674 using his light microscope. A spectrum of …

Nacre, or mother-of-pearl, the iridescent inner layer of many mollusk shells, is a biomineral
lamellar composite of aragonite (CaCO3) and organic sheets. Biomineralization frequently …

Avian eggshell mineralization is the fastest biogenic calcification process known in nature.
How this is achieved while producing a highly crystalline material composed of large calcite …

Coccoliths are calcitic particles produced inside the cells of unicellular marine algae known
as coccolithophores. They are abundant components of sea-floor carbonates, and the …

Biomineralization of skeletal components (eg, bone and teeth) is generally accepted to
occur under strict cellular regulation, leading to mineral–organic composites with …