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Biology

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Illustration of icons that relate to life’s origins: a volcano, molecules, a crab, fish, DNA and more.
The Joy of Why

How Could Life Evolve From Cyanide?

By Steven Strogatz
June 1, 2022
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How did life arise on Earth? Steven Strogatz speaks with the Nobel Prize-winning biologist Jack Szostak and Betül Kaçar, a paleogeneticist and astrobiologist, to explore our best understanding of how we all got here.

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
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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
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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
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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
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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.

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
April 27, 2022
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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
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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.

Artist’s illustration representing the immune system standing guard against a world of pathogens.
The Joy of Why

Why Is Inflammation a Dangerous Necessity?

By Steven Strogatz
April 20, 2022
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The immune system protects us from a full spectrum of pathogens, but without balance, it can end up hurting us over time, too. The immunologist Shruti Naik explains how our defenses can turn on us.

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


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