Instituto Andaluz de Tecnología

The formation of protein single crystals grown with the shape controlled by the geometry of the capillary used as a growth cell is presented. The shaped crystals show strong birefringence under crossed nicols and diffract as single crystals up to 1.74 A.

Silica biomorphs are inorganic self-organized precipitates resulting from a crystal aggregation process controlled by a metal silicate membrane. They display morphological and symmetric properties of living organisms and form under physico-chemical conditions similar to some geochemical conditions suggested for the chemical precipitation of Precambrian chert precursors. In consequence, these inorganic precipitates are proposed as an alternative interpretation to be considered when trying to decipher the biogenicity of putative Precambrian microbiotas.

The Neogene is the period in which the Betic Cordillera, the Rif, and the Alboran Sea acquired their present configuration. The Neogene sediments of the Betic Internal Zones (located directly to the North of the Alboran Sea) show the effects of important periods of deformation. Deposition was clearly controlled by tectonics. Therefore the generation, evolution, and total or partial destruction of basins and the formation of new, often superimposed, basins are common phenomena, according to the locations of the basins in the Betic Cordillera and to the different geodynamic situations.

ABSTRACTDuring the continental rifting the upper mantle was unroofed, and the mantle rocks were transformed into serpentinite at the ocean‐continent transition of the west Galicia margin (Spain). The serpentinite layer, several km thick, extends probably eastwards, beneath the highly thinned continental crust of the margin.The serpentinite layer was recently imaged by seismic reflection. It is discontinuously and deeply layered. As serpentinized peridotite can have densities and seismic velocities comparable to those of the lower continental crust, we suggest that undercrusting by serpentinite can play a part in building the lower seismic crust in highly stretched continental rifted areas.

The effect of several experimental variables (seed amount, seed size, maximum cooling temperature, cooling rate, and stirring) on the measurement of the equilibrium temperature of hydroalcoholic potassium hydrogen tartrate solutions by the seeded polythermal method has been obtained. An experimental protocol optimizing the accuracy of the method is proposed. Because of the accuracy in the results and the short running time (10 minutes), this protocol can be used for testing wine stabilization in industrial process, including continuous stabilization.