The evolutionary history of biomineralization in animals is crucial to our understanding of modern mineralized tissues. Traditional methods of unravelling this history have aimed to derive a theory of the development of biomineralization through evolution by the comparison of mineralized systems in model organisms. This has led to the recognition of the 'biomineralization toolkit' and raised th...

Intraosseous lipoma, a rare primary benign tumor of the skeleton, is most commonly found in the calcaneus. It may contain homogenous fat, but it may also contain necrosis, calcification, or ossification. It usually does not show contrast enhancement, but there is an interface enhancement between the outer fat plan and the inner fluid part. Herein, we present an unusual 22-year-old male case of ...

in the axial skeleton. Fibroma, aneurysmal bone cyst, chondroblastoma and fibrous dysplasia must be evaluated in the radiographic differential diagnosis of chondromyxoid fibroma. Being an eccentric metaphyseal location, showing sharp, sclerotic, scalloped margins and matrix calcification are its major radiographic features. In pathological evaluation, the tumour shows a distinctly lobulated pat...

“Biomineralization links soft organic tissues, which are compositionally akin to the atmosphere and oceans, with the hard materials of the solid Earth. It provides organisms with skeletons and shells while they are alive, and when they die these are deposited as sediment in environments from river plains to the deep ocean floor. It is also these hard, resistant products of life which are mainly...

Biomineralization has mostly been studied in the class Anthozoa (Phylum Cnidaria), but very little is known about the evolution of the calcified skeleton in the class Hydrozoa or about the processes leading to its formation. The evolution of the calcified skeleton is here investigated in the hydrozoan family Hydractiniidae. A phylogenetic analysis of ribosomal, mitochondrial, and nuclear-protei...

The Dutch ethologist Niko Tinbergen famously distinguished between proximal and ultimate explanations in biology. Proximally, biologists seek a mechanistic understanding of how organisms function; most of this volume addresses the molecular and physiological bases of biomineralization. But while much of biology might be viewed as a particularly interesting form of chemistry, it is more than tha...

Ocean acidification, the decrease in seawater pH due to the absorption of atmospheric CO2, profoundly threatens the survival of a large number of marine species. Cold-water corals are considered to be among the most vulnerable organisms to ocean acidification because they are already exposed to relatively low pH and corresponding low calcium carbonate saturation states (). Lophelia pertusa is ...

The panoramic radiograph is an excellent extraoral radiograph to reveal abnormalities and pathologic conditions of the jaws and to show calcification of adjacent soft tissue. A single panoramic radiograph provides a significant image of the maxillofacial skeleton and dentition and often is used as a survey or screening film because of the area it covers. The panoramic radiograph does not provid...

Anthropogenic ocean acidification threatens to negatively impact marine organisms that precipitate calcium carbonate skeletons. Past geological events, such as the Permian-Triassic Mass Extinction, together with modern experiments generally support these concerns. However, the physiological costs of producing a calcium carbonate skeleton under different acidification scenarios remain poorly und...

The mechanisms behind the transfer of molecules from the surrounding sea water to the site of coral calcification are not well understood, but are critical for understanding how coral reefs are formed. We conducted experiments with the fluorescent dye calcein, which binds to calcium and is incorporated into growing calcium carbonate crystals, to determine the permeability properties of coral ce...