Bacterial evolution in ancient sub-seafloor sediments
Micro-organisms persisting deep below the seafloor for millions of years continue to evolve despite living at the energy limit to life......»»
More efficient phenotypic screening method can simultaneously test multiple drugs
Some of the most widely used drugs today, including penicillin, were discovered through a process called phenotypic screening. Using this method, scientists are essentially throwing drugs at a problem—for example, when attempting to stop bacterial.....»»
In search of evidence of ancient human existence, researchers traverse the inhospitable Namib desert
Strewn across the Namib desert is a treasure trove of stone tools of which little is known because getting to them is so difficult. There are few roads and vehicles have limited access in this protected area that lies in the desert of western Namibia.....»»
Astronomers detect ancient lonely quasars with murky origins
A quasar is the extremely bright core of a galaxy that hosts an active supermassive black hole at its center. As the black hole draws in surrounding gas and dust, it blasts out an enormous amount of energy, making quasars some of the brightest object.....»»
Ancient ‘Age of Dinosaurs’ Seafloor Found beneath Pacific Ocean
A vast, ancient slab of seafloor plunged beneath the Pacific Ocean and has hovered in Earth’s mantle for more than 120 million years, a new study suggests.....»»
Scientists Peeked Underneath the Seafloor and Discovered Something "Totally Unexpected"
Scientists Peeked Underneath the Seafloor and Discovered Something "Totally Unexpected".....»»
"Old" star could provide new insights into star evolution
A newly discovered star could challenge some models of how stars evolve and the way they produce elements as they age......»»
Plate tectonics drive compositional evolution of the upper mantle, study finds
On present-day Earth, plate subduction continuously modifies the chemical composition of the convecting mantle, and various mantle sources linked to these processes have been widely studied. However, when did global chemical heterogeneity of the conv.....»»
Hubble captures intricacies of R Aquarii, a symbiotic binary star roughly 700 light-years from Earth
The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has provided a dramatic and colorful close-up look at one of the most rambunctious stars in our galaxy, weaving a huge spiral pattern among the stars. Hubble's images capture its details and its evolution is featur.....»»
Ghostly white giant worms appear to be reproducing under the seafloor where tectonic plates meet
Ghostly white giant worms appear to be reproducing under the seafloor where tectonic plates meet.....»»
Targeting bacteria: Auxiliary metabolic genes expand understanding of phages and their reprogramming strategy
Viruses that infect bacteria—known as bacteriophages—could be used in a targeted manner to combat bacterial diseases. They also play an important ecological role in global biogeochemical cycles. Recent research by researchers at the University of.....»»
New venomous reptile species from the Late Triassic unearthed in Arizona
A new species of small, venomous reptile, Microzemiotes sonselaensis, has been discovered in the Late Triassic Chinle Formation in northeastern Arizona. The findings, recently published in PeerJ, shed new light on the evolution of venomous feeding st.....»»
Tubeworms, snails and other weird creatures found under the seafloor
Scientists for the first time have uncovered an underworld of animal life thriving beneath the seafloor......»»
How profits from big pharma"s use of genetic information could revolutionize nature conservation
The blue blood of threatened horseshoe crabs contains a chemical essential for testing the safety of vaccines. So these ancient creatures are highly sought after by pharmaceutical companies worldwide, contributing to declines in their populations......»»
Scientists apply ancient construction methods to help fabricate modern microparticles
Inspired by the ancient East Asian method of constructing wooden structures using a "tongue and groove" technique, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) scientists have developed a new approach to fabricating advanced ceramic mi.....»»
Did child labor fuel the ancient pottery industry?
Archaeologists from Tel Aviv University and the National Museum in Copenhagen have analyzed 450 pottery vessels made in Tel Hama, a town at the edge of the Ebla Kingdom, one of the most important Syrian kingdoms in the Early Bronze Age (about 4,500 y.....»»
Ancient hominins had humanlike hands, indicating earlier tool use, study reveals
An analysis by Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Germany, on the manual capabilities of early hominins reveals that some Australopithecus species exhibited hand use similar to modern humans......»»
Traces of ancient immigration patterns to Japan found in 2,000-year-old genome
A joint research group led by Jonghyun Kim and Jun Ohashi of the University of Tokyo has demonstrated that the majority of immigration to the Japanese Archipelago in the Yayoi and Kofun periods (between 3000 BCE and 538 CE) came from the Korean Penin.....»»
Archaeologists discover Armenia"s oldest church
Archaeologists from the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia and the University of Münster have discovered the remains of a previously unknown early Christian church in the ancient city of Artaxata. The find consists of an octagonal building with.....»»
Ancient humans were so good at surviving the last ice age, they didn"t have to migrate like other species
Humans seem to have been adapted to the last ice age in similar ways to wolves and bears, according to our recent study, challenging longstanding theories about how and where our ancestors lived during this glacial period......»»
Cells From Different Species Can Exchange ‘Text Messages’ Using RNA
Long known as a messenger within cells, RNA is increasingly seen as life’s molecular communication system—even between organisms widely separated by evolution......»»