US-Germany Cooperative Research: Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) of Precambrian Microfossils - A New Paleontologic Technique in the Search for the Earth's Earliest Fossils

0233259 Schopf该奖项支持加州大学洛杉矶分校的William Schopf与德国慕尼黑大学纳米科学中心的Wolfgang Heckl合作。该项目将侧重于开发一种新的古生物学技术，该技术将有助于鉴定前寒武纪细胞微化石及其遗骸。通过使用原子力显微镜(AFM)，研究人员打算调查以前通过较老的显微镜方法定位和鉴定的微化石的形态，以了解化石遗骸的纳米结构。德国方面的首席研究员是将原子力显微镜应用于生物和地球生物学问题的先驱，将为研究团队提供独特的专业知识。这项工作的结果将对目前关于前寒武纪化石性质的争论产生一定的影响，也将适用于其他植物的有机质研究，因此将产生更广泛的影响。

0233259SchopfThis award supports William Schopf from the University of California-Los Angeles in a collaboration with Wolfgang Heckl of the Center for Nanoscience at the University of Munich, Germany. The project will focus on the development of a new paleontological technique that will be useful in identification of Precambrian cellular microfossils and their remains. Through the use of atomic force microscopy (AFM), the researchers intend to investigate the morphology of microfossils previously located and identified by older methods of microscopy, in order to learn about the nanostructure of the fossil remains. The principal investigator on the German side is a pioneer in the application of AFM to biological and geobiological problems and will contribute unique expertise to the research team. Results from this work will have a definite impact on the current debate over the nature of pre-Cambrian fossils and will also be applicable to the study of organic matter from other plants and so have a broader impact.