2014 Biomineralization Gordon Research Conference & Gordon Research Seminar

描述（由申请人提供）：2014年生物矿化GRC是这个长期以来备受好评的GRC会议的50周年纪念，表明了多年来对该活动的高度卓越和热情。生物矿化领域是广泛的，超过60种已确定的生物矿物跨越大多数门。这个重要的会议吸引了最优秀和最聪明的科学家研究矿化的生物调节在许多不同的生物。实际上，激活矿化的硬化策略有许多功能，这取决于产生生物矿物质的生物体，对于脊椎动物来说，包括i)骨骼支撑、运动、保护和作为骨骼中的离子储存器，ii)牙齿咀嚼食物，以及iii)在人类内耳耳蜗中提供平衡感和线性加速度。在非脊椎动物中，生物矿化的功能包括：1)在磁场中排列细菌，2)在洋流中为浮游植物创造浮力元素，3)在植物中提供矿物离子储存库和保护，4)保护海洋生物并提供光学功能，5)保护胚胎免受细菌入侵和蛋壳干燥。指导生物矿化的许多基本原则适用于所有这些生物结构，并且可以从他们的集体调查中学到很多东西，这是本次会议的独特之处之一。指导生物矿化过程的分子决定因素的新知识也为功能材料的合理工程带来了新的生物启发思维，这些功能材料主要基于含纳米矿物的组织结构、薄膜和块状材料的硬化设计策略。本GRC/GRS将探索生物体合成、控制和利用矿物质的基本原理，以及这些原理的潜在应用，特别是与创造新的、受生物调节的矿物有关

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The 2014 Biomineralization GRC is the 50th anniversary of this longstanding, highly rated GRC conference indicating a high level of excellence and enthusiasm over many years for this event. The biomineralization field is broad, with over 60 identified biominerals cutting across most phyla. This premier conference attracts the best and brightest scientists investigating biological regulation of mineralization in many diverse organisms. Indeed, hardening strategies invoking mineralization have many functions depending on the organism producing the biomineral, which for vertebrates includes i) skeletal support, locomotion, protection and serving as an ion reservoir in bones, ii) mastication of food by teeth, and iii) providing for sensation of balance and linear acceleration in human inner ear otoconia. In nonvertebrates, biomineralization functions to i) align bacteria within a magnetic field, ii) create bouyancy elements for phytoplankton in ocean currents, iii) provide mineral ion storage depots and protection in plants, iv) protect and provide optical functions in marine organisms, and v) protect embryos from bacterial invasion and dessication in eggshells. Many fundamental principles guiding biomineralization apply to all these organismal structures, and much can be learned from their collective investigation, which is one of the unique features of this meeting. New knowledge of the molecular determinants guiding biomineralization processes also leads to new bioinspired thinking for the rational engineering of functional materials based largely on hardening design strategies for nanomineral- containing organized structures, thin films and bulk materials. This GRC/GRS will explore the basic principles by which organisms synthesize, control and make use of minerals, as well as the potential applications of these, particularly as they relate to the creation of novel, biologically regulated mineralized materials. Sessions planned for this meeting are: Biomineral nucleation and growth, Intracellular biomineralization, Biominerals in marine invertebrates, Regulation of biomineralization in marine invertebrates, Protein/peptide regulation of biomineralization, Computational simulations of biomineralization, Transgenic mouse models for normal and pathologic biomineralization, and Mineralized material properties and bioinspired materials. The Keynote Session(Co-evolution of the geo- and biospheres) will have Robert Hazen as keynote speaker from the Carnegie Institution of Washington's Geophysical Laboratory giving a talk entitled "How minerals and life co- evolve." The inclusion of a trainee/early-stage investigator-based GRS immediately proceeding the GRC assures scientific and professional development for the next generation of researchers in the biomineralization field. The GRS participants all continue as GRC participants, thus providing essentially a full week of scientific exchange for the trainees/early-stage investigators.