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PROFOUND EFFECT. "It appears that as a whole these sequences, once regarded as “junk DNA,” have had a profound effect in shaping our genome." Hardly junk. https://lnkd.in/eW3mbzE View in LinkedIn

HALF OF GLOBAL. "In terms of total CaCO3 production, the pelagic foraminifera and coccolithophores together probably represent the bulk of modern-day global CaCO3 production. While accurate estimates of the relative contributions of these organisms are lacking, it is likely that the coccolithophores represent up to half of all current global oceanic CaCO3 production." https://lnkd.in/eXTtntg View in LinkedIn

NEW INFO #3. "The core concept of DNA biology, that DNA determines protein information and some remnants of former evolutionary stages remained as useless junk DNA in the genomes of cell-based organisms is also outdated. The genes coding for proteins in the human genome represent 1.5% of the total, whereas the number of noncoding DNA reaches 98.5%. Noncoding RNAs are actively engaged in nearly all cell processes for both evolutionary and developmental needs." https://lnkd.in/eUYvi8e View in LinkedIn

Emiliania huxleyi is a unicellular marine alga that is considered to be the world's major producer of calcite. Which in turn produces marine sediments that lock up atmospheric CO. A player in stopping global warming. View in LinkedIn

REDUCTIONISM HAS LIMITS. "But if you look at molecular biology as breaking Humpty Dumpty into as many pieces as possible, then systems biology is about trying to put him back together again. And that's actually a great deal more difficult. It's about recognising that every physical component is part of a system and that everything interacts with everything else." (Professor Nobel). https://lnkd.in/eZTtZJ3 View in LinkedIn

VASTNESS FROM SMALLNESS. "The algae represent major producers of calcium carbonate and silica among the world’s biota. Calcification involves the precipitation of CaCO3 from Ca and CO ions. Algal calcification may account for up to half of global oceanic CaCO3 production. Silicification is less widespread among algal groups, which transform dissolved silicate to skeletal material. Diatoms play a key role in marine silica cycling." High carbon sink. https://lnkd.in/eXTtntg View in LinkedIn

SHELLS TO EXPLOSIVES. "Alfred Nobel implemented one of the earliest commercial applications of diatomite with his discovery that highly explosive nitroglycerine could be stabilized by absorption into diatomite, thereby producing dynamite." High surface area within the biocrystals. https://lnkd.in/eXTtntg View in LinkedIn

DIATOMITE. "It is estimated that over 30 million km2 of ocean floor are covered with sedimentary deposits of diatom shells. Diatomite is a low-density and highly porous opaline silica sedimentary rock formed by the compaction of diatom frustule deposits between 50 and 80 million years ago in both marine and freshwater locations." 30 m km2 and who knows how deep. Remarkable material from a microscopic algal biocrystalline shell. I use it regularly as a natural pesticide. https://lnkd.in/eXTtntg View in LinkedIn

COCCOLITHS. "There are two main types of coccoliths, with quite different modes of biomineralisation. Heterococcoliths are formed of a radial array of complex calcite (CaCO3) crystals and are produced inside the cell. By contrast holococcoliths are formed of numerous minute euhedral crystallites arranged in continuous arrays and calcify outside the cell." (Beautiful images). https://lnkd.in/euKdfr8 View in LinkedIn

NEW INFO #4. "The detection of a third domain of life by Carl Woese was a very important step in the development of our picture on the animate world, as was the serial endosymbiotic theory of Lynn Margulis, ie, cooperation of merged members constituting eukaryotic cells with a true nucleus." https://lnkd.in/eUYvi8e View in LinkedIn