In the end, she helped the team characterize the biomorphic features, as well as unusual grains of
the mineral magnetite found in the meteorite.
Mined to make the first compass needles,
the mineral magnetite is also made by migratory birds and other animals to allow them to sense north and south and thus navigate in cloudy or dark atmospheric conditions or under water.
The researchers used the new nano - scale technique of Transmission Kikuchi Diffraction to discover rims of the iron oxide
mineral magnetite just a few ten thousandths of a millimetre thick around sulphide minerals inside the diamonds.
The researchers engineered nanoparticle complexes containing small amounts of ropivacaine and the iron oxide
mineral magnetite.
Not exact matches
The meteorite is full of grains of an iron oxide
mineral called
magnetite, each grain a mere 20 to 120 nanometers across.
They also spew a continuous stream of superheated water past iron - rich — and possibly catalytic — vent
minerals, such as pyrrhotite and
magnetite.
Another navigational tool: birds» beaks, which contain bits of
magnetite, a
mineral that may allow them to sense Earth's magnetic field.
Scientists have hypothesized that
magnetite, a form of iron that's the most magnetic of naturally occurring
minerals, is the key ingredient in specialized cells that react to changes in magnetism.
Tarduno and his team wanted hard data on both the intensity and direction of the magnetic field, which are recorded and stored in
minerals, such as
magnetite, at the time they were formed.
An international research team has now studied this question for the first time at ultra-high resolution on samples of
magnetite, the
mineral dominating the magnetic properties in the earth's crust.
When the scientists examined the cells in the growing communities closely, they found nanoparticles of
magnetite on the surface of cells and, in some cases, grains of the iron
mineral connecting microbial pairs.
He and Kent used a bandsaw to trim the samples into sugar cube - size blocks and inserted them into a magnetometer, which measured the polarity of tiny grains of the
minerals hematite and
magnetite contained in the sediment.
One group argues that tiny crystals of a magnetic
mineral known as
magnetite, which is found in the brains of some birds and in bacteria, are key.
Magnetite — magnetic variant of rust, or iron oxide — is one such
mineral.
Microscopic grains inside
magnetite are capable of storing information about the planet's magnetic field, including the direction and intensity, from the time the
minerals cooled and solidified.
Magnetite (Fe3O4) is a common
mineral found on black sandy beaches, in iron - rich sediments and even in interplanetary dust.
A Martian meteorite discovered in Antarctica in 1984 called ALH84001 was found to have a
mineral called
magnetite that on Earth is associated with the presence of microorganisms.
Caption —
Magnetite is the most abundant magnetic
mineral on Earth.
The Earth's magnetic field leaves its signature on volcanic rocks and certain sedimentary rocks rich in such iron - bearing
minerals as
magnetite.