Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT

Nature’s first known solid ‘nanofoam’ helps pollen to ride the wind

A porous layer gives pollen grains extraordinary toughness while allowing them to float on the breeze.
3D reconstruction lateral view of the full grain of a modern pine pollen specimen from x-ray nanotomography data.

The foamy structure of a pollen grain’s outer wall is visible in a reconstructed image of pollen from a modern pine tree (family Pinaceae). Credit: R. Cojocaru et al./Sci. Adv.

Tasked with the survival of their species, many pollen grains must drift with the wind and endure harsh conditions. Advanced imaging techniques reveal that they do so thanks to exterior shells made of a tough material riddled with nanometre-sized pores — the first known example of a solid biological ‘nanofoam’1.

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Nature 602, 550 (2022)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-00437-4

References

  1. Cojocaru, R. et al. Sci. Adv. 8, eabd0892 (2022).

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Subjects

Latest on:

Nature Careers

Jobs

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing

Search

Advanced search

Quick links