References & Sources

From swirl to defect in wood grain

Observations of wood-grain patterns, which resemble those caused by defects in liquid-crystal structures, can provide important clues to tree growth at the cellular level.

References:

Kramer, E.M. 1999. Observation of topological defects in the xylem of Populus deltoides and implications for the vascular cambium. Journal of Theoretical Biology 200(September):223.

Further Readings:

Peterson, I. 1996. The sounds of crumpling. Science News 149(June 15):376.

______. 1991. Cracks in the cosmos. Science News 139(June 1):344.

Sources:

Eric M. Kramer
Department of Physics
Simon’s Rock College
Great Barrington, MA 01230

From Science News, Vol. 156, No. 17, October 23, 1999, p. 271. Copyright © 1999, Science Service.