Collaborate Disseminate
Scientists have discovered evidence that an isolated pocket of complex life may have evolved on Earth more than 2 billion years ago – only to go extinct and take another 1.5 billion years to evolve to that level again. The controversial find could rewr… Continue reading Isolated community of complex life may have existed 2 billion years ago
From dog sleds to horse-drawn carts, animals have been pulling vehicles for thousands of years. Now, scientists at the University of Tokyo have made what might be the smallest version ever, designing microscopic vehicles that can be pulled by single-ce… Continue reading Watch: World’s smallest chariot pulled along by single-celled algae
The microbiome’s central role in regulating the gut-brain axis and impacting health has gained prominence in the past decade. Prior research has linked the composition of gut bacteria to brain-related conditions like depression, PTSD and Alzheimer’s di… Continue reading Autism linked to specific gut bugs, promising quick, accurate diagnosis
As the driest nonpolar desert in the world, the Atacama Desert in northern Chile is home to very few species of plants and animals. With rainfall often occurring only once a decade, the desert is so dry that NASA uses it as a stand-in for the Martian l… Continue reading 19,000-year-old biosphere with links to Mars discovered beneath desert
The four spikes on a new nanocrystal developed in Spain spin up under light and move through liquid, blasting any bacteria unfortunate to be in their path. The development could spell trouble for bacteria that resists traditional drug treatments.Contin… Continue reading Light-activated propulsion spins bacteria-shredding micromotors
Our bodies are home to trillions of microbes, including bacteria, viruses, fungi, and a whole host of others. Now, Stanford scientists have discovered an entirely new class of biological entities inside us, which they’ve ominously named “Obelisks.”Cont… Continue reading Completely new type of “biological entity” discovered in our bodies
Scientists have hit a major milestone in a 15-year project trying to build a completely synthetic yeast genome. Reporting in a bumper crop of new papers, the team has engineered viable yeast cells with more than 50% synthetic DNA for the first time, an… Continue reading Yeast with 50% synthetic DNA engineered in breakthrough genetic studies
From striking close-ups of an igniting match to a mouse embryo and a micrometeorite, the winners of the annual Nikon Small World photomicrography competition have been unveiled. As always, this year’s stunning images capture the wonder of the tiny hidd… Continue reading Mini marvels mesmerize in Nikon Small World photomicrography awards
In what sounds like the opening scenes of a disaster movie, scientists recently revived worms frozen in the permafrost since the Ice Age. Now, these worms have been attributed to a new species, and seem to have passed down their incredible hibernation … Continue reading 46,000-year-old worms revived from permafrost belong to new species
How small a canvas can evolution work on? Scientists have experimented with a synthetic lifeform designed to have the simplest possible genome, and found that given the chance it can evolve lost fitness back, showing that indeed, “life finds a way.”Con… Continue reading Synthetic lifeform regains lost “fitness” in evolution experiment