Silica-Containing Biomimetic Composites Based on Sea Urchin Skeleton and Polycalcium Organyl Silsesquioxane.

The paper presents an original approach to the synthesis of polycalciumorganyl silsesquioxanes through the reaction of polyorganyl silsesquioxanes [SiO] (where is an ethyl and phenyl radical) with sea urchin skeleton under the conditions of mechanochemical activation. The novelty and practical significance of the present study lies in the use of an available natural raw source as a source of calcium ions to initiate the reaction of calcium silicate formation and create a matrix for the formation of a porous inorganic composite framework. The thermal stability of the introduced silicates, i.

Sea Urchin as a Universal Model for Studies of Gene Networks.

The purple sea urchin has been used for over 150 years as a model organism in developmental biology. Using this model species, scientists have been able to describe, in detail, the mechanisms of cell cycle control and cell adhesion, fertilization, calcium signaling, cell differentiation, and death. Massive parallel sequencing of the sea urchin genome enabled the deciphering of the main components of gene regulatory networks during the activation of embryonic signaling pathways.