Credit: Matthias Kellermeier/Stephen Hyde/Juan Manuel Garcia-Ruiz
Picture of silica biomorphs formed by the interaction of silica polymers with barium carbonate precipitation. Juan Manuel García-Ruiz, a researcher and professor for Spain’s National Research Council at the University of Grenada is investigating whether the ability of silica to trigger self-organization may have played a catalytic role in the formation of organic molecules from inorganic minerals and even triggered chemical reactions that lead to complex organic molecules.