ArticleScience (New York, N.Y.)2018
Fractal-like hierarchical organization of bone begins at the nanoscale.
Article in Science (New York, N.Y.), 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 198 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
198 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Bridging the missing middle in osseointegration: meso-scale topography between macro design and microroughness.International journal of implant dentistry · 2025Pooled it
- Field-ridge structured bioactive Zn-based scaffold promotes bone regeneration via cellular mechanotransduction.Bioactive materials · 2027Article
- AI-Revealed Transition From Density- to Connectivity-Controlled Mechanics in Hierarchical Porous Materials.Small (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany) · 2026Article
- Regulating Cells Fate and Function to Facilitate Bone Regeneration via Designing Programmable Bio-Interactive Materials.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Review
- The narwhal tusk assembles its macroscopic helix from building blocks with opposing twists.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Self-Assembly of Organic-Inorganic Copolymers Toward Bio-Inspired Cementitious Composites.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Article
- Directing Assembly of Mesoscale Multi-Shell Morphologies of DNA Origami Crystals.Advanced materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.) · 2026Article
- Inorganic Ionic Polymerization-Anchored Polymer Networks for Ultrastrong and Ultratough Eutectogels.Advanced materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.) · 2026Article
- Stiff interlocked nanoclay aerogels for synergistic detection and removal of organic contaminants in water.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Bone-like Collagen Matrices Through Rapid Intrafibrillar Mineralisation.Journal of functional biomaterials · 2026Article
- Evolutionary applications of electrical stimulation in bone repair: bibliometric trends and temporal dynamics.EFORT open reviews · 2026Review
- Hydration-Dependent Thermal and Microstructural Characterization of a Collagen-Based 3D Matrix for Periodontal Regeneration.Journal of functional biomaterials · 2026Article
- CGRP-empowered stem cell sheet/short nanofiber spongeMaterials today. Bio · 2026Article
- Noncovalent synthesis of higher-order super-heterostructures from structurally distinct molecular π-systems via secondary nucleation.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Mechanical Overloading-Induced Nanomineral Crystal Perturbation from the Osteochondral Interface: A Potential Initiator of Osteoarthritis.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Article
- Bone Tissue Engineering: Scaffold Design Principles, Biomaterial Advances, and Strategies for Functional Regeneration and Clinical Translation.Bioengineering (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- From diagnostic marker-to-therapeutic modality: emerging paradigms in tumor biomineralization.Cancer biology & medicine · 2026Review
- Hierarchical biomimetic scaffold with directional guidance and photothermal properties for the repair of critical-sized bone defects.Journal of nanobiotechnology · 2026Article
- Role of Metabolic Acids in Shaping Bone-like Apatite Architectures.Chemistry of materials : a publication of the American Chemical Society · 2026Article
- 3D self-locking granular metamaterials.Science advances · 2026Article
138 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
Abstract
The components of bone assemble hierarchically to provide stiffness and toughness. However, the organization and relationship between bone's principal components-mineral and collagen-has not been clearly elucidated. Using three-dimensional electron tomography imaging and high-resolution two-dimensional electron microscopy, we demonstrate that bone mineral is hierarchically assembled beginning at the nanoscale: Needle-shaped mineral units merge laterally to form platelets, and these are further organized into stacks of roughly parallel platelets. These stacks coalesce into aggregates that exceed the lateral dimensions of the collagen fibrils and span adjacent fibrils as continuous, cross-fibrillar mineralization. On the basis of these observations, we present a structural model of hierarchy and continuity for the mineral phase, which contributes to the structural integrity of bone.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.