Raphide Crystals in Alocasia
Duration: 1 min 24 secs
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About this item
| Description: | The BIP group explores how plants and animals create vivid colours and what we can learn from them. Through these videos, and with the frequent help of electron microscopes, you will have a chance to see the world through our eyes, the eyes of young scientists from across the world working on a wide range of natural and naturally-inspired materials – in this video Miranda Sinnott-Armstrong looks at Raphide Crystals in Alocasia. |
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| Created: | 2021-03-26 11:46 |
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| Collection: | Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry Cambridge Festival 2021 |
| Publisher: | University of Cambridge |
| Copyright: | University of Cambridge |
| Language: | eng (English) |
| Keywords: | BIP; Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry; Cambridge Festival; Miranda Sinnott-Armstrong; |
Transcript
Transcript:
Electron microscopy reveals the hidden inner world all around us. We are able to see objects that are smaller than the characteristic “length” of visible light and can therefore see the tiniest dimensions of plants and animals.
In this image, we are not looking at some sort of secret code, but rather at raphide crystals growing in the leaves of a plant called Alocasia. Raphide crystals are made of calcium oxalate and grow into a variety of shapes that we can see in an electron microscope … including the Hs and Ns in this image. Raphide crystals allow the plant to store extra calcium and also to deter herbivores — animals that might want to eat the leaf, but who won’t do so when it is full of sharp and toxic crystals.
Electron microscopy shows us how even the smallest of small things can have a profound impact on interactions between plants and animals.
In this image, we are not looking at some sort of secret code, but rather at raphide crystals growing in the leaves of a plant called Alocasia. Raphide crystals are made of calcium oxalate and grow into a variety of shapes that we can see in an electron microscope … including the Hs and Ns in this image. Raphide crystals allow the plant to store extra calcium and also to deter herbivores — animals that might want to eat the leaf, but who won’t do so when it is full of sharp and toxic crystals.
Electron microscopy shows us how even the smallest of small things can have a profound impact on interactions between plants and animals.
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