How Seashells Are Made

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If you know that seashells are made of basically the same stuff as chalk, you might have wondered why chalk is crumbly but seashells are super tough. This week on Reactions, we explain: The secret’s in the biochemistry.


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Credits:
Producer: Sean Parsons
Writer: Alexa Billow
Scientific Consultants: Ingrid Weiss, PhD; Michelle Boucher, PhD
Executive Producer: George Zaidan
Fact Checkers: Alison Le
Music:
“Samba Insobel” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
“Hard Boiled” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Sources:
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/chem.200500980
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22202112
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-are-seashells-created/#
http://news.mit.edu/2015/why-seashell-mineral-forms-differently-in-seawater-0302
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmpzDfrqliU
http://www.elic.ucl.ac.be/textbook/chapter4_node11.xml
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S092849310500353X
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/presentation/f540/11f40966e62998998f9eecca7ebf9a28f207.pdf
http://epod.usra.edu/blog/2009/10/sidewalk-chalk-and-the-calcium-cycle.html
http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2015/05/blackboard-chalk-isnt-chalk/
https://www.thoughtco.com/calcite-vs-aragonite-1440962
https://www.mindat.org/min-307.html
https://www.mindat.org/min-859.html
http://www.webexhibits.org/causesofcolor/15B.html
http://newscenter.lbl.gov/2008/11/25/mother-of-pearl-secret-revealed/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIOSWAbUf74


Ever wonder why dogs sniff each others' butts? Or how Adderall works? Or whether it's OK to pee in the pool? We've got you covered: Reactions a web series about the chemistry that surrounds you every day.

Produced by the American Chemical Society.