Dr Silvia Vignolini working with Dr Job Kibii and Ms. Cecila Kathenya at the National Museums in Kenya, courtesy Rox Middleton
Dr Silvia Vignolini and PhD student Rox Middleton have visited the National Museums in Kenya to study a Pollia fossil.
The researchers used an Axio Scope microscope donated by Zeiss, which they later presented to Kenyan researchers in the palaeontology section of the Museums.
“We were thrilled to have the opportunity to examine the fossil, which was discovered and stored at the Museums in 1989,” said Silvia, whose research group studies plant structures and how they manipulate light to obtain brilliant and iridescent colours. Pollia is a good example, because its fruits are a striking example of iridescent colouration in plants.
PhD student Rox Middleton said: “It was very exciting to be the first researchers ever to examine the Pollia fruit specimens under the microscope.” Earlier this year Rox received the SET for Britain Silver Award for her research poster on “Biomimetic optical materials made of cellulose.”
The Zeiss microscope has now been donated to researchers at the National Museums. “We are proud that local and visiting researchers who travel to the museums from all over the world will now be able to use its advanced capabilities to examine the huge wealth of valuable specimens in the museums,” said Silvia.
The two researchers discovered that the fossil specimens share many characteristics of modern species. “We now understand more about the preservation of the fruit body over the course of 12 million years,” said Silvia. They hope to publish their results early next year.