In diatom, scientists find genes that may level engineering hurdle
January 22, 2008 | Source: PhysOrg.com
The discovery of genes that allow diatoms to build their hard cell walls by laying down sub-micron-sized lines of silica could be used for computer chip nanofabrication, claim University of Washington researchers.
They have found a set of 75 genes specifically involved in silica bioprocessing in a species of diatom.