Posted by Katrina Charles, BA Media Fellow

Diatoms are eukaryotic unicelluar algae found in water. Their cell walls are made of dissolved silica and have extraordinarily intricate designs, which scientists have come up with various theories of predation and self-assembly to explain. Now scientists investigating the light properties of these organisms are hypothesising a new theory. Because of the way the diatoms can manipulate and diffract light through their cell wall, the researchers suggest that they could have evolved to maximise the potential for photosynthesis.

In a press conference today, Pete Vukusic of the University of Exeter spoke about his research into the way the diatom Coscinodiscus wailesii manipulates light. To do this, his team removed the material inside the cell and used an electron microscope to take images of the cell walls and performed “elaborate optical experiments”, including putting the cell wall on the tip of a needle, placing it in seawater and shining a lasers through it. They found that the walls also restricted the wavelengths of light that entered the diatom.

The picture below shows the highly regular patterns in the layers of the diatom cell wall. No scale is provided, but the cells are typically 230 to 370 µm.

The new hypothesis is that the nanostructure in the cell wall allows the chloroplasts within the cell better access to light needed for photosynthesis, no matter where in the cell the chloroplasts are located.

Vukusic says that understanding these structures and their manipulation of light might have applications in biomedical fields. The diatoms are cheap, easy to replicate, widely available, and may be suitable vehicle for medicines. For example, Vukusic described the possibility of coating the surfaces of diatoms so antigens attach to the surface. When an antibody attaches to the antigen it would result in a change in the light properties which can be detected optically. The results are to be published in the Journal of Materials Research in December.

Posted by Katrina Charles, BA Media Fellow

Diatoms are eukaryotic unicelluar algae found in water. Their cell walls are made of dissolved silica and have extraordinarily intricate designs, which scientists have come up with various theories of predation and self-assembly to explain. Now scientists investigating the light properties of these organisms are hypothesising a new theory. Because of the way the diatoms can manipulate and diffract light through their cell wall, the researchers suggest that they could have evolved to maximise the potential for photosynthesis.

In a press conference today, Pete Vukusic of the University of Exeter spoke about his research into the way the diatom Coscinodiscus wailesii manipulates light. To do this, his team removed the material inside the cell and used an electron microscope to take images of the cell walls and performed “elaborate optical experiments”, including putting the cell wall on the tip of a needle, placing it in seawater and shining a lasers through it. They found that the walls also restricted the wavelengths of light that entered the diatom.

The picture below shows the highly regular patterns in the layers of the diatom cell wall. No scale is provided, but the cells are typically 230 to 370 µm.

The new hypothesis is that the nanostructure in the cell wall allows the chloroplasts within the cell better access to light needed for photosynthesis, no matter where in the cell the chloroplasts are located.

Vukusic says that understanding these structures and their manipulation of light might have applications in biomedical fields. The diatoms are cheap, easy to replicate, widely available, and may be suitable vehicle for medicines. For example, Vukusic described the possibility of coating the surfaces of diatoms so antigens attach to the surface. When an antibody attaches to the antigen it would result in a change in the light properties which can be detected optically. The results are to be published in the Journal of Materials Research in December.

Posted by Katrina Charles, BA Media Fellow

There was an interesting session on science in the Islamic world this morning.

It was hosted by physicist Jim Al Khalili, born in Baghdad to an Islamic Iraqi father and Christian English mother, and brought up with religious debate. He is currently researching the golden days of science in Islam as part of a BBC series on the subject, and for a book “House of Wisdom”. In his travels researching the documentary, devout Muslims he came across mostly said that the Qur’an is not a scientific text, but it teaches you how to live your life, and encourages you to study and understand the world. But a minority did say that the Qur’an provides all the keys to science.

Continue reading →

Posted by Katrina Charles, BA Media Fellow

There was an interesting session on science in the Islamic world this morning.

It was hosted by physicist Jim Al Khalili, born in Baghdad to an Islamic Iraqi father and Christian English mother, and brought up with religious debate. He is currently researching the golden days of science in Islam as part of a BBC series on the subject, and for a book “House of Wisdom”. In his travels researching the documentary, devout Muslims he came across mostly said that the Qur’an is not a scientific text, but it teaches you how to live your life, and encourages you to study and understand the world. But a minority did say that the Qur’an provides all the keys to science.

Continue reading →

Posted by Katrina Charles, BA Media Fellow

My first day at the festival started early with press conferences, watching the British (and international) science media in action. I took a bit of time out to go and see some of the other activities, a lot of which are aimed at getting school kids interested in science. There were robots, exploding things, kids using bicycles to light a (very small) house, and a giant blow-up cell that kids could walk inside.

Once all the press conferences were over, I wandered off to enjoy one of the adult sessions of the festival: “Science fiction and you”, where the presenters showed the influence of science fiction literature on our view of science, and extraterrestrials.

Continue reading →

Posted by Katrina Charles, BA Media Fellow

My first day at the festival started early with press conferences, watching the British (and international) science media in action. I took a bit of time out to go and see some of the other activities, a lot of which are aimed at getting school kids interested in science. There were robots, exploding things, kids using bicycles to light a (very small) house, and a giant blow-up cell that kids could walk inside.

Once all the press conferences were over, I wandered off to enjoy one of the adult sessions of the festival: “Science fiction and you”, where the presenters showed the influence of science fiction literature on our view of science, and extraterrestrials.

Continue reading →

Posted by Katrina Charles, BA Media Fellow

The discovery of more fossilised forests in Illinois coal mines is providing insights into the impacts of global warming on ecosystems.

Last year, Katherine Sanderson reported in Nature News on the discovery, reported by Howard Falcon-Lang from Bristol University and colleagues. The fossil forests were originally noticed by maintenance workers, working in the passages where the coal had been mined. The coal would have formed from soil that lay beneath the tropical forests. Now that the coal is gone, the roofs of these passages show the bottom of the forests: tree roots, leaf litter from the forest floor, and tree trunks.

Continue reading →

Posted by Katrina Charles, BA Media Fellow

The discovery of more fossilised forests in Illinois coal mines is providing insights into the impacts of global warming on ecosystems.

Last year, Katherine Sanderson reported in Nature News on the discovery, reported by Howard Falcon-Lang from Bristol University and colleagues. The fossil forests were originally noticed by maintenance workers, working in the passages where the coal had been mined. The coal would have formed from soil that lay beneath the tropical forests. Now that the coal is gone, the roofs of these passages show the bottom of the forests: tree roots, leaf litter from the forest floor, and tree trunks.

Continue reading →

Posted by Katrina Charles, BA Media Fellow

Hello from the 2008 European City of Culture. That is Liverpool, home of the Beatles, Everton football club, and for the next week, the BA Festival of Science.

The BA is the British Association for the Advancement of Science, an organisation that is working to bridge the gap between science and the public. One of the ways they do that is through the Festival of Science. From the programme:

“The BA Festival of Science features top scientists and commentators from all over the country, all of whom are committed to public debate and discussion of the advances and issues that affect us all – this is unique experience for you to question them about what they do, why they do it and what might happen in the future.”

So here am I to find who is asking what, and to keep you up-to-date, and hopefully entertained, with the goings on at the festival. You can find out more about the festival programme at the website.

But who am I? I am the product of one of the BA’s other programmes, the BA Media Fellowships scheme. I’m a researcher who has been temporarily transplanted from the lab to Nature’s news desk.

And for all my hard work at Nature News, I am being rewarded with a week as a real roving science journalist, working hard in the press office at the festival, and relaxing with a little liquid refreshment in the evenings. There’ll be more posts throughout the week.

Posted by Katrina Charles, BA Media Fellow

Hello from the 2008 European City of Culture. That is Liverpool, home of the Beatles, Everton football club, and for the next week, the BA Festival of Science.

The BA is the British Association for the Advancement of Science, an organisation that is working to bridge the gap between science and the public. One of the ways they do that is through the Festival of Science. From the programme:

“The BA Festival of Science features top scientists and commentators from all over the country, all of whom are committed to public debate and discussion of the advances and issues that affect us all – this is unique experience for you to question them about what they do, why they do it and what might happen in the future.”

So here am I to find who is asking what, and to keep you up-to-date, and hopefully entertained, with the goings on at the festival. You can find out more about the festival programme at the website.

But who am I? I am the product of one of the BA’s other programmes, the BA Media Fellowships scheme. I’m a researcher who has been temporarily transplanted from the lab to Nature’s news desk.

And for all my hard work at Nature News, I am being rewarded with a week as a real roving science journalist, working hard in the press office at the festival, and relaxing with a little liquid refreshment in the evenings. There’ll be more posts throughout the week.