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EDGE CMT: How the Easter Egg Weevils (Pachyrhynchus) got their spots: the functional genom — NSF Award to California Academy of Sc

In many animals, including insects, coloration is formed by the animal’s nanostructure, which bends and reflects light, rather than by pigments. Studying how nature creates such so-called structural colors could provide inspiration for new optical materials. However, the development of nanostructures is poorly understo

Award titleEDGE CMT: How the Easter Egg Weevils (Pachyrhynchus) got their spots: the functional genom
Award ID2525853
AwardeeCalifornia Academy of Sciences
CitySAN FRANCISCO
StateCA
Amount obligated$808,848
Principal investigatorMatthew Van Dam
ProgramCross-BIO Activities
Start date09/15/2025
AbstractIn many animals, including insects, coloration is formed by the animal’s nanostructure, which bends and reflects light, rather than by pigments. Studying how nature creates such so-called structural colors could provide inspiration for new optical materials. However, the development of nanostructures is poorly understood. For example, how do cells coordinate to form the structural colors found in nature? This project will study how cells in Easter Egg weevils collaborate during development to fo
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