Biomineralization: from nature to application
ENV-406 / 4 crédits
Enseignant(s): Adams Arthur, Meibom Anders
Langue: Anglais
Withdrawal: It is not allowed to withdraw from this subject after the registration deadline.
Summary
Understanding process and role of biomineralization (minerals formed by living organisms) in context of Earth's evolution,global chemical cycles, climatic changes and remediation.
Content
Biomineralization refers to the processes by which organisms form minerals. It is therefore, by definition, a highly multidisciplinary field that spans both the inorganic and the organic world. The phenomenon of biomineralization is relevant to the Earth, Environmental and Life Sciences on practically all length scales. From the immense scale of reef-systems and global ocean life-cycles to small bacterial communities, the impact of biomineralization spans length scales of at least 12 orders of magnitude and a large fraction of geological time! But despite the global environmental impact of biomineralization and its fundamental scientific importance, there are still many open questions about the basic biological mechanisms involved.
This class aims at giving insights into the study of fundamental processes that shape biominerals and determine their chemical and isotopic composition, from bacteria, to corals and vertebrates.
The occurrence of biominerals in the geologic record and their use as paleo-climate recorders will be discussed together with biomineralization induced by bacteria, with important implications for mineral ore formation and remediation of contaminated sites.
Importantly, different biominerals continous to inspire e.g. material scientists and architects and examples of this will also be discussed.
Keywords
General principles of biomineralization - controlled versus induced, properties, diversity
The origin of Biomineralization
Large scale biomineralization patterns through Earth history
Present day pattern of biomineralization
Biomineralization and global elemental cycles
Biomineralization and global environmental change (e.g. ocean acidification)
Biominerals as proxies for past environmental change
Carbonate biomineralization processes for specific organisms: corals, sponges, foraminifera
Silicon biomineralization
Biomineralization by bacteria and environmental applications
Bones and teeth and their applications to describe environmental conditions.
Biomineralzation and material science.
Learning Prerequisites
Required courses
Basic courses in mathematics, physics, chemistry and geology.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course, the student must be able to:
- Assess / Evaluate literature on biomineralization
- Choose a topic within the context provided by the lectures
- Compose a written review of the selected literature
- Defend the written text with an oral presentation
Transversal skills
- Summarize an article or a technical report.
- Access and evaluate appropriate sources of information.
- Make an oral presentation.
- Write a literature review which assesses the state of the art.
Teaching methods
The class will consist of lectures given by international experts in topics related to biomineralization.
Students will prepare presentations of specific topics/papers for discussing
Expected student activities
Students will attend lectures and lab classes and participate in discussions.
Students will write a project on a topic chosen in collaboration with the teachers and present the project at the end of the semester.
Assessment methods
Students will be evaluated for their written report (75%) and its presentation (25%).
Resources
Bibliography
Lectures notes, papers, and presentations to be handed out by the teacher(s).
Références suggérées par la bibliothèque
Moodle Link
Dans les plans d'études
- Semestre: Automne
- Forme de l'examen: Pendant le semestre (session d'hiver)
- Matière examinée: Biomineralization: from nature to application
- Cours: 2 Heure(s) hebdo x 14 semaines
- Projet: 1 Heure(s) hebdo x 14 semaines
- Semestre: Automne
- Forme de l'examen: Pendant le semestre (session d'hiver)
- Matière examinée: Biomineralization: from nature to application
- Cours: 2 Heure(s) hebdo x 14 semaines
- Projet: 1 Heure(s) hebdo x 14 semaines
- Semestre: Automne
- Forme de l'examen: Pendant le semestre (session d'hiver)
- Matière examinée: Biomineralization: from nature to application
- Cours: 2 Heure(s) hebdo x 14 semaines
- Projet: 1 Heure(s) hebdo x 14 semaines
Semaine de référence
| Lu | Ma | Me | Je | Ve | |
| 8-9 | |||||
| 9-10 | |||||
| 10-11 | |||||
| 11-12 | |||||
| 12-13 | |||||
| 13-14 | |||||
| 14-15 | |||||
| 15-16 | |||||
| 16-17 | |||||
| 17-18 | |||||
| 18-19 | |||||
| 19-20 | |||||
| 20-21 | |||||
| 21-22 |
Légendes:
Cours
Exercice, TP
Projet, autre