In the vast history of Earth, billions of years ago, an arid landscape dominated by volcanoes and shallow pools may have witnessed the beginning of something extraordinary: life. An illustrative scene generated by artificial intelligence captures this vision, with a primitive coastline serving as the backdrop for the early evolutionary steps that would define the […]
Biology
In bees, ants, and wasps, males hatch from unfertilized eggs and females from those that have been fertilized, and it is the queen who decides
In the vast realm of insects, certain beetles, mites, and other insects—including bees, ants, and wasps—use a unique system of sex determination known as haplodiploidy. In this system, the sexual destiny of each individual is determined at the time the egg is laid and hinges on a simple but crucial event: fertilization. Bees, ants, and […]
Which came first the chicken or the egg? Scientists have found the answer in a species discovered in 2017
The classic question, “What came first, the egg or the chicken?” has intrigued philosophers and scientists for centuries. A recent discovery, however, may finally provide some clarity on this ancient dilemma. In 2017, researchers identified a unicellular species known as Chromosphaera perkinsii, found in oceanic sediments near Hawaii, which could hold the answer. Chromosphaera perkinsii […]
Scientists Create for the First Time Artificial Cells that Behave as if they were Alive
Scientists have made a groundbreaking discovery by creating artificial cells that mimic the behavior of living cells. This significant advancement, detailed in the journal Nature Chemistry, was achieved by Ronit Freeman, a researcher at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-Chapel Hill), along with her team. By manipulating DNA and proteins—the foundational elements […]
Researchers Identify Protein that Allows us to Feel the Cold
The search for these temperature sensors began more than 20 years ago with the discovery of a heat-sensitive protein called TRPV1. Since then, proteins that detect hot, warm, and even cool temperatures have been found, but the one responsible for detecting temperatures below about 60 degrees Fahrenheit (15.5 degrees Celsius) remained elusive. In a 2019 […]
Scientists Reveal how the First Cells on Earth May Have Formed
About 4 billion years ago, Earth started developing the right ingredients for life. Scientists who study how life began wonder what chemicals were present back then. They want to know if the chemistry of early Earth was anything like what living things need today. They do know that spherical blobs of fats called protocells came […]
Researchers Reveal Why Animal Size Decreases Over Time
Scientists have long wondered why some animal species seem to gradually get smaller over long periods of time, as shown by the fossil record. A new study proposes it may depend on two key ecological factors – competition for resources between species and the risk of extinction in their environment. Using computer models that simulate […]
Researchers Demonstrate that Human Cells “Vibrate”
A research team from the CSIC (Spanish National Research Council) has achieved a significant breakthrough in understanding the mechanical properties of human cells: it has successfully demonstrated that living cells, specifically human breast epithelial cells, exhibit mechanical resonances, a phenomenon previously considered unlikely due to the extraordinary viscosity and complexity of cells in physiological environments. […]
Mystery of Why Urine is Yellow Solved by Scientists, an Enzyme Responsible
Scientists have discovered the microbial enzyme responsible for giving urine its yellow color. A team of researchers from the University of Maryland and the National Institutes of Health identified the enzyme, called bilirubin reductase, which paves the way for more research on how the bacteria in our guts impact health problems. Our bodies produce a […]
Europe was not covered in dense forests before modern humans arrived
For decades, scientists believed that outside of ice ages, most of Europe was covered in dense forests before modern humans arrived. However, new research is revealing that the landscape had much more open and semi-open vegetation than conventionally expected. Textbooks in biology and forestry have long shown Europe as naturally covered by thick forests. The […]