Variations of organic functional chemistry in carbonaceous matter from the asteroid 162173 Ryugu.

Primordial carbon delivered to the early earth by asteroids and meteorites provided a diverse source of extraterrestrial organics from pre-existing simple organic compounds, complex solar-irradiated macromolecules, and macromolecules from extended hydrothermal processing. Surface regolith collected by the Hayabusa2 spacecraft from the carbon-rich asteroid 162173 Ryugu present a unique opportunity to untangle the sources and processing history of carbonaceous matter. Here we show carbonaceous grains in Ryugu can be classified into three main populations defined by spectral shape: Highly aromatic (HA), Alkyl-Aromatic (AA), and IOM-like (IL).

Stacking Structure of Vaterite Revealed by Atomic Imaging and Diffraction Analysis.

Anhydrous calcium carbonate crystals exist as three polymorphs: calcite, aragonite, and vaterite. Although vaterite is a metastable phase rarely found in the geological environment, it is intriguing that various biominerals are composed of vaterite. The processes of stable vaterite formation in biological systems cannot be understood without elucidating the nature of vaterite.

Dispersion Function of a Protein, DP-1, Identified in Collimonas sp. D-25, for the Synthesis of Gold Nanoparticles.

Collimonas sp. (D-25), found in the soil of Akita Prefecture, is a gram-negative bacterium with the ability to synthesize gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). During the synthesis of AuNPs, one specific protein (DP-1) was found to have disappeared in the sonicated solution of the bacterium.

VGF nerve growth factor inducible has the potential to protect pancreatic β-cells.

VGF nerve growth factor inducible (VGF) is a secreted polypeptide involved in metabolic regulation. VGF-derived peptides have been reported to regulate insulin secretion in the plasma of patients with type 2 diabetes and model mice. However, the protective effects of VGF on pancreatic β-cells in diabetic model are not well understood.

Effect of phosphoproteins on intracellular calcification of bacteria.

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of phosphoproteins on bacterial mineralization. Dental calculus formation is attributed to bacterial mineralization in the oral cavity; however, the influence of phosphoproteins (which are abundant in saliva) is not clear. The model bacterium Escherichia coli was suspended in a calcification solution containing casein as a model phosphoprotein.

Heme protein identified from scaly-foot gastropod can synthesize pyrite (FeS) nanoparticles.

The scaly-foot gastropod (Chrysomallon squamiferum), which lives in the deep-sea zone of oceans around thermal vents, has a black shell and scales on the foot. Both the black shell and scales contain iron sulfide minerals such as greigite (FeS) and pyrite (FeS). Although pyrite nanoparticles can be used as materials for solar panels, it is difficult to synthesize stable and spherical nanoparticles in vitro.

Dissolution behavior of radiocesium-bearing microparticles as a function of solution compositions.

More than a decade has passed since the Fukushima nuclear accident in 2011 and contamination around the nuclear power plant is primarily caused by Cs. One of the materials retaining radiocesium in the environment is radiocesium-bearing silicate glass microparticles (CsMPs), which have not been reported in previous nuclear accidents. Although the prediction of environmental fates of CsMPs is of interest because of their extremely high specific radioactivity, knowledge about their physicochemical properties is still limited.

Macromolecular organic matter in samples of the asteroid (162173) Ryugu.

Samples of the carbonaceous asteroid (162173) Ryugu were collected and brought to Earth by the Hayabusa2 spacecraft. We investigated the macromolecular organic matter in Ryugu samples and found that it contains aromatic and aliphatic carbon, ketone, and carboxyl functional groups. The spectroscopic features of the organic matter are consistent with those in chemically primitive carbonaceous chondrite meteorites that experienced parent-body aqueous alteration (reactions with liquid water).

Functional analyses of chitinolytic enzymes in the formation of calcite prisms in Pinctada fucata.

The mollusk shells present distinctive microstructures that are formed by small amounts of organic matrices controlling the crystal growth of calcium carbonate. The shell of Pinctada fucata has the prismatic layer consisting of prisms of single calcite crystals and the nacreous layer consisting of aragonite tablets. The calcite crystal of prisms contains small angle grain boundaries caused by a dense intracrystalline organic matrix network to improve mechanical strength.

Microstructure and mineral components of the outer dentin of Chimaera phantasma tooth plates.

Tooth plates are a unique dental organ found in holocephalan fishes and lungfish. The chimaeroid tooth plates are atypical in terms of biomineralization, due to the hard tissue composition of whitlockite and apatite, while those of lungfish and other vertebrates are composed of apatite. The tooth plates are overlaid by a thin veneer-outer dentin-whose composition and role are not known.

Reactor environment during the Fukushima nuclear accident inferred from radiocaesium-bearing microparticles.

Radiocaesium-bearing microparticles (CsMPs), which are substantially silicate glass, were formed inside the damaged reactor and released to the environment by the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant accident in March 2011. The present study reports several valuable findings regarding their composition and structure using advanced microanalytical techniques. X-ray absorption near-edge structure of Fe L-absorption indicated that the oxidation state of the iron dissolved in the glass matrix of the CsMPs was originally nearly divalent, suggesting that the atmosphere in which the CsMPs were formed during the accident was considerably reductive.

A review of Cs-bearing microparticles in the environment emitted by the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant accident.

Scientists face challenge in identifying the radioactive materials which are found as dotted images on various imaging plate (IP) autoradiographic photos of radioactively contaminated materials by the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant (F1NPP, or FDNPP) accident, such as air filter, fugitive dust, surface soil, agricultural materials, and water-shed samples. It has been revealed that they are minute particles with distinct morphology and elemental composition with high specific radioactivity, and different from those of the so-called Chernobyl hot particles. Basically, they are glassy particles once molten, composed of Si, O, Fe, Zn etc.

Dissolution behaviour of radiocaesium-bearing microparticles released from the Fukushima nuclear plant.

Radiocaesium-bearing microparticles (CsMPs) composed of silicate glass were released by the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident in March 2011. Since CsMPs contain a high concentration of radiocaesium, their dynamics and fate in the environment are urgent issues to be investigated. Here, we show that CsMPs are dissolved by weathering in the environment and that their radioactivity is more rapidly decreased by dissolution than the physical decay of radiocaesium.

Inner structure and inclusions in radiocesium-bearing microparticles emitted in the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident.

Radiocesium-bearing microparticles (CsMPs), consisting substantially of silicate glass, were released to the environment during the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident in March 2011. Since the CsMPs were formed inside the damaged reactors during the accident, we investigate the inner structures of several CsMPs by transmission electron microscopy to understand the events within the reactors. Elemental mapping of the CsMPs shows a distinct radial distribution of Cs with a higher concentration near the surface of the CsMPs, implying that Cs was in a gaseous state in the reactor atmosphere and diffused into the glass matrix after formation of the glass particles.

Loss of radioactivity in radiocesium-bearing microparticles emitted from the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant by heating.

Radiocesium-bearing microparticles (CsPs) substantially made of silicate glass are a novel form of radiocesium emitted from the broken containment vessel of Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant. CsPs have a potential risk of internal radiation exposure caused by inhalation. Radiation-contaminated waste including CsPs is being burned in incinerators; therefore, this study has investigated the responses of CsPs to heating in air.

Electron tomography of whole cultured cells using novel transmission electron imaging technique.

Since a three-dimensional (3D) cellular ultrastructure is significant for biological functions, it has been investigated using various electron microscopic techniques. Although transmission electron microscopy (TEM)-based techniques are traditionally used, cells must be embedded in resin and sliced into ultrathin sections in sample preparation processes. Block-face observation using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) has also been recently applied to 3D observation of cellular components, but this is a destructive inspection and does not allow re-examination.

Crystal defects induced by chitin and chitinolytic enzymes in the prismatic layer of Pinctada fucata.

Biomineralization, in which organisms create biogenic hard tissues, with hardness or flexibility enhanced by organic-inorganic interaction is an interesting and attractive focus for application of biomimetic functional materials. Calcites in the prismatic layer of Pinctada fucata are tougher than abiotic calcites due to small crystal defects. However, the molecular mechanism of the defect formation remains unclear.

Direct observation of cesium at the interlayer region in phlogopite mica.

To investigate the sorption mechanism of cesium (Cs) into clay minerals, high-resolution (scanning) transmission electron microscopy (TEM/STEM) imaging of Cs in mica (phlogopite) has been conducted. Platy phlogopite powders were immersed in a cesium chloride (CsCl) solution to achieve Cs(+)-K(+) ion-exchange at the interlayer regions in phlogopite. To observe many phlogopite particles with the incident electron beam parallel to the mica layers, cross-sectional thin specimens were prepared from sedimented particles using a focused ion beam.

Characteristics of biogenic calcite in the prismatic layer of a pearl oyster, Pinctada fucata.

The fine structure of the calcite prism in the outer layer of a pearl oyster, Pinctada fucata, has been investigated using various electron beam techniques, in order to understand its characteristics and growth mechanism including the role of intracrystalline organic substances. As the calcite prismatic layer grows thicker, sinuous boundaries develop to divide the prism into a number of domains. The crystal misorientation between the adjacent domains is several to more than ten degrees.