Archive | Biology

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Primordial DNA could have appeared spontaneously, suggests new study

The self-organization properties of DNA-like molecular fragments four billion years ago may have guided their own growth into repeating chemical chains long enough to act as a basis for primitive life, say an international team of scientists from the University of Colorado Boulder and the University of University of Milan. A paper describing the intriguing […]

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Evolutionary biology could reveal a universal basis for morality

Recent developments in science appear to indicate that the emergence of life in general and perhaps even rational life, with its associated technological culture, may be common throughout the Universe. Now, a new paper appearing in the journal Space Policy suggests this universal tendency toward complexity has distinctly religious overtones and may even establish a […]

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Animals conceal sickness in mating situations

In research that has implications for our understanding of how diseases spread in human populations, researchers from the University of Zurich have been studying how sick animals will conceal their illness in the presence of their young or when mating opportunities arise. The study’s author, Dr. Patricia Lopes, says that animals from a number of […]

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Species turnover: this isn’t the biodiversity you’re looking for

Re-examining biodiversity data from one hundred long-term ecosystem monitoring studies done around the world, a new paper has revealed that the number of species in many of these places has not changed much – or has actually increased. But the researchers did discover something changing rapidly:which species were thriving. University of Vermont researcher Nick Gotelli’s […]

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Population growth makes wildlife conservation pointless, concludes new report

A growing human population will inevitably crowd out mammals and birds and has the potential to threaten hundreds of species with extinction within 40 years, new research from Ohio State University indicates. The findings are detailed in the journal Human Ecology. The scientists behind the study have determined that the average growing nation should expect […]

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Significant bacterial populations found in upper atmosphere

Using a DC-8 aircraft to scoop-up air samples from the troposphere, scientists have identified significant numbers of living microorganisms – mostly bacteria – six miles above the Earth’s surface. The work, detailed in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is of interest to atmospheric scientists as the microorganisms could play a role in forming […]

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