Researchers find hints of a ‘hidden state’ involving one of Earth’s most abundant ions

While conducting an otherwise straightforward investigation into the assembly mechanism of calcium-phosphate clusters, researchers made a surprising discovery: Phosphate ions in water have a curious habit of spontaneously alternating between their commonly encountered hydrated state and a mysterious, previously unreported ‘dark’ state. This recently uncovered behavior, they say, has implications for understanding the role of phosphate species in biocatalysis, cellular energy balance and the formation of biomaterials. …read more