Scientists trying to understand the cellular mechanics of how cancer begins have discovered a new type of cell division which they have named klerokinesis. Researcher Mark Burkard, from the University of Wisconsin, reported his team’s findings yesterday at the American Society for Cell Biology Annual Meeting in San Francisco. Burkard believes that klerokinesis could be […]
Attempts to recreate the emergence of life by mixing and reacting basic chemicals are wrong-headed, argue two US scientists, who instead propose that it is the informational architecture of a system’s chemical networks that allows it to gain causal purchase over its components and become alive. The researchers behind the new paradigm – Paul Davies, […]
Scientists have discovered a viable community of bacteria that survives in a pitch-black, salty, and sub-zero environment beneath nearly 20 meters of ice in one of Antarctica’s most isolated lakes. Lake Vida, the largest of several lakes found in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, contains no oxygen and possesses the highest nitrous oxide levels of any […]
After reviewing previous studies into “anomalous anticipatory activity,” researchers at Northwestern University think the phenomenon might be related to recent findings in the field of quantum biology. Published in the journal Frontiers in Perception Science, the new meta-study is based on an analysis of the results of 26 studies published between 1978 and 2010. Researchers […]
The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) says Madidi National Park in northwest Bolivia may be the most biologically diverse place on Earth, boasting 11 percent of the world’s birds, more than 200 species of mammals, 300 types of fish, and 12,000 plant varieties. The new WCS assessment is based on the work of more than 50 […]
Humans, birds, fish and frogs appear to share the same ancient neural circuits that are responsible for a range of social behaviors, from flashy mating displays to aggression and monogamy. The biologists behind the discovery, from the University of Texas at Austin, say the brain circuitry in question has existed for more than 450 million […]
Using ultrafast spectroscopy, scientists have observed what happens at the subatomic level during the very first stage of photosynthesis and uncovered a much more fundamental interaction than had previously been considered possible. The researchers, from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory and the University of Notre Dame, have published their findings in the […]
The first steps in the evolution of an eye may be evident in the hydra’s stinging tentacles, say scientists who have discovered that the tentacles are light sensitive and operate in fundamentally the same way as the eyes in animals. The findings, in the journal BMC Biology, indicate that even in the absence of complex […]
Four new species of miniaturized lizards have been identified in extreme northern Madagascar. The zoologists responsible for the discovery suggest the tiny size of the chameleons may represent an extreme case ofisland dwarfism. Detailed phylogenetic analyses of the new species appear in the journal PLoS ONE. Lead researcher Frank Glaw, of the Zoological State Collection […]
Fifteen years after the return of wolves to Yellowstone National Park a beautifully revitalized ecosystem is emerging. Oregon State University researchers working at the park say their observations provide “persuasive” evidence of the importance of top predators to biodiversity and ecosystem health. “Yellowstone increasingly looks like a different place,” said William Ripple, lead author of […]
