Foldable structures and the natural design of pollen grains | PNAS

Cover image: Pictured is a scanning electron micrograph of a dehydrated lily pollen grain. The impermeable outer layer of a pollen grain contains permeable apertures that allow material within the pollen grain to be exchanged with the external environment. Eleni Katifori et al. report that pollen grains have evolved elongated apertures that promote folding, help seal the grain, and curb desiccation. The folding mechanism in lily pollen illustrates one of the many design principles that contribute to the diversity of pollen grain shapes. See the article by Katifori et al. on pages 7635–7639. Image courtesy of Eleni Katifori. Total number of views and citations See how this article has been cited at scite.ai scite shows how a scientific paper has been cited by providing the context of the citation, a classification describing whether it supports, mentions, or contrasts the cited claim, and a label indicating in which section the citation was made. See more details If y

Cover image: Pictured is a scanning electron micrograph of a dehydrated lily pollen grain. The impermeable outer layer of a pollen grain contains permeable apertures that allow material within the pollen grain to be exchanged with the external environment. Eleni Katifori et al. report that pollen grains have evolved elongated apertures that promote folding, help seal the grain, and curb desiccation. The folding mechanism in lily pollen illustrates one of the many design principles that contribute to the diversity of pollen grain shapes. See the article by Katifori et al. on pages 7635–7639. Im