Welcome
Join us in Edinburgh in May 2025 for this edition of the Faraday Discussion series. The Faraday Discussions are unique international discussion meetings that address current and emerging topics at the forefront of the physical sciences.
This meeting is for established and early-career scientists, postgraduate students and industrial researchers working on various aspects of biomineralization research. It will provide an ideal forum for cross-fertilisation of ideas and understanding between the distinct but adjacent communities working in this exciting field.
On behalf of the organising committee, we look forward to welcoming you to Edinburgh.
Why attend?
Find out more about Faraday Discussions in the video and FAQs – see Useful links on the right.
A unique conference format that prioritises discussion
At a Faraday Discussion, the primary research papers written by the speakers are distributed to all participants before the meeting – ensuring that most of the meeting is devoted to discussing the latest research.
This provides a genuinely collaborative environment, where discussion and debate are at the foreground. All delegates, not just speakers, are invited to make comments, ask questions, or present complementary or contradictory measurements and calculations.
An exciting programme of talks – and more
Take part in a well-balanced mix of talks, discussion, poster sessions and informal networking, delivered by our expert events team. You can explore the full programme in the downloadable files on the right – whether you’re attending in-person or online, every minute provides an opportunity.
The conference dinner, included in the registration fee, contains the Marlow Cup ceremony: a unique commemoration of past Faraday Discussion organisers that is sure to encourage further discussions over dinner.
In-depth discussion with leaders in the field
World-leading and established researchers connect with each other and early-career scientists and postgraduate students to discuss the latest research and drive science forwards. It’s a unique atmosphere – and challenging others to get to the heart of the problem is encouraged!
Your contributions, published and citable
A citable record of the discussion is published in the Faraday Discussions journal, alongside the research papers. Questions, comments and remarks become a valuable part of the published scientific conversation, and every delegate can make a major contribution.
Discover Edinburgh
The Discussion will take place in Edinburgh. Step out to explore the city while you’re here – or stay a few extra days to explore the surrounding area.
Themes
It becomes increasingly clear that the relationship between structure and function of hierarchical biominerals can only be understood by connecting the length scales and interrogating comprehensively the impact of atomic-level organisation and the multi-level assembly of the resulting composites. This Faraday Discussion will focus on the application of advanced methods to scrutinise existing paradigms in biomineralization and improve our understanding of mineralisation across length scales by bringing together different communities including world-leading experts in relevant imaging and spectroscopy techniques with the biomineralization community where these methods are commonly used.
Crystal nucleation in biominerals
This session will focus on understanding events occurring at the atomic scale during the formation of biominerals: crystal nucleation under biological conditions, the interaction between ions and nuclei with biomacromolecules, the role of amorphous precursor phases and the role of kinetics and thermodynamics in determining polymorph type, crystal nucleation and morphology.
Interfaces at the nano scale
This session will focus on high resolution imaging techniques to characterize crystal growth at the nanoscale under biological conditions and the mechanisms leading to the assembly of nano-crystalline building blocks into ordered polycrystalline structures.
Interfaces at the micron scale
This session will focus on discussing techniques that are suitable for bridging the gap between the nano- and micron scales for the characterization of the structure of biominerals. We will cover both synchrotron X-ray-based imaging and electron microscopy techniques that address different length scales.
Connecting length scales
After dedicating the previous sessions to characterizing the structure of biominerals can be characterized at different length scales, the focus of this session will be to put it all together and discuss how the structure and formation of biominerals can be addressed using a range of techniques that can bridge all length scales – from the atomic to the micro-scales.
