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Biology

Colorized transmission electron micrograph of a polyribosome.
origins of life

Life’s First Peptides May Have Grown on RNA Strands

By Yasemin Saplakoglu
May 24, 2022
Read Later

RNA and peptides coevolving in the primordial world might have jointly served as a precursor to the modern ribosome.

Cells growing in a dish glow in seven different fluorescent colors.
synthetic biology

Simple Gene Circuits Hint at How Stem Cells Find New Identities

By Veronique Greenwood
May 19, 2022
Read Later

Synthetic biology experiments suggest a “MultiFate” model for how genetically identical cells become the many different types found in complex organisms like us.

Illustration of a wooly mammoth with its hind quarters still being assembled from digital blocks.
explainers

Why ‘De-Extinction’ Is Impossible (But Could Work Anyway)

By Yasemin Saplakoglu
May 9, 2022
Read Later

Several projects are aiming to bring back mammoths and other species that have vanished from the planet. Whether that’s technically possible is beside the point.

Illustration of a network of self-replicating RNA molecules evolving and getting more complex.
origins of life

In Test Tubes, RNA Molecules Evolve Into a Tiny Ecosystem

By Yasemin Saplakoglu
May 5, 2022
Read Later

When researchers gave a genetic molecule the ability to replicate, it evolved over time into a complex network of “hosts” and “parasites” that both competed and cooperated to survive.

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Illustration of a red human figured amid blue silhouettes of animals, in front of a red background.
Quantized Columns

What Happens When We Give Animals Our Diseases?

By Tara C. Smith
Read Later

While it’s understandable to focus on the diseases affecting humans, it’s important to study how our illnesses may affect animals.

Micrograph of a macrophage phagocytosing bacteria.
evolution

Ancient Genes for Symbiosis Hint at Mitochondria’s Origins

By Veronique Greenwood
April 26, 2022
Read Later

Was the addition of mitochondria a first step in the formation of complex cells or one of the last? A new study of bacteria tries to answer this contentious question in evolutionary biology.

Video microscopy of a large C. elegans roundworm flanked by several much smaller ones.
evolution

In Sexy Worms, Inheritance Beyond Genes Can Help Evolution

By Carrie Arnold
April 19, 2022
Read Later

Traits from RNA molecules passed between multiple generations of worms can work with genetic changes to influence future evolution.

Illustration that combines elements of three- and four-leaf clovers with the letter for nucleotides in codons.
synthetic biology

Life With Longer Genetic Codes Seems Possible — but Less Likely

By Yasemin Saplakoglu
April 11, 2022
Read Later

Life could use a more expansive genetic code in theory, but new work shows that improving on three-letter codons would be a challenge.

Simulated microscopy image of light shining through mitochondrial bundles and emerging as tight beams.
biophysics

Mitochondria Double as Tiny Lenses in the Eye

By Yasemin Saplakoglu
April 5, 2022
Read Later

The optical properties of mitochondrial bundles in the retina may improve how efficiently the eye captures light.


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