Ancient protein study reveals how natural selection predates life itself

Exactly how life arose out of non-living matter is a major mystery, and a new study has found that natural selection may have played a role before life itself even existed on Earth. By recreating the primordial soup, scientists identified how a cocktai… Continue reading Ancient protein study reveals how natural selection predates life itself

AI-aided alien search detects 8 “very suspicious” radio signals

It’s estimated that the universe contains hundreds of billions of galaxies, and each galaxy has about that many planets, so the chances are incredibly small that Earth is the only place with life. A new AI system has now scoured millions of radio signa… Continue reading AI-aided alien search detects 8 “very suspicious” radio signals

New branch on Tree of Life contains organisms unlike any others on Earth

Scientists have discovered a completely new branch on the tree of life. This “supergroup” contains an incredibly diverse range of predatory microbes that are extremely different genetically from any other form of life on Earth.Continue ReadingCategory:… Continue reading New branch on Tree of Life contains organisms unlike any others on Earth

Record-breaking 2-million-year-old DNA reveals long-lost ecosystem

An artist's impression of the ecosystem that lived in Greenland 2 million years ago, as revealed by the world's oldest DNA samples

The record for world’s oldest surviving DNA has been shattered. An international team of scientists has discovered DNA that dates back 2 million years, preserved in Ice Age sediment that captures an entire ecosystem of known – and unknown – lifeforms.

Continue Reading

Category: Science

Tags: , , , , , ,

Continue reading Record-breaking 2-million-year-old DNA reveals long-lost ecosystem

Synthetic bacteria becomes smallest lifeform that can move around

Japanese scientists have engineered the smallest lifeform that can move on its own. The team introduced bacterial proteins that enable movement into a simple synthetic bacterium that normally cannot move, causing it to change shape and become mobile.Co… Continue reading Synthetic bacteria becomes smallest lifeform that can move around

Synthetic bacteria becomes smallest lifeform that can move around

Japanese scientists have engineered the smallest lifeform that can move on its own. The team introduced bacterial proteins that enable movement into a simple synthetic bacterium that normally cannot move, causing it to change shape and become mobile.Co… Continue reading Synthetic bacteria becomes smallest lifeform that can move around

Oldest meal on record dates back half a billion years

The remains of the oldest meal on record have been identified. In fossils of a strange slug-like creature called Kimberella, which lived half a billion years ago, scientists have found food molecules preserved in the gut, revealing what and how these a… Continue reading Oldest meal on record dates back half a billion years

Earth’s earliest mass extinction uncovered in fossil record

Scientists believe that the Earth is currently in the midst of its sixth major extinction event, but a new study suggests that’s not the case – it may actually be the seventh. Scientists have found evidence of a previously unknown mass extinction event… Continue reading Earth’s earliest mass extinction uncovered in fossil record

Ancient Martian life may have died out in self-induced climate change

Humans might not be the first lifeforms in the solar system to face the threat of their own activity changing the climate of their home planet. A new model suggests that ancient Mars was once habitable enough to support methane-producing microbes, and … Continue reading Ancient Martian life may have died out in self-induced climate change