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biology

Latest Articles

Q&A

In Warm, Greasy Puddles, the Spark of Life?

By Emily Singer
March 17, 2016
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The biologist David Deamer proposes that life evolved from a collection of interacting molecules, probably in a pool in the shadow of a volcano.

ecology

A Timely Fix for a Grand Theory of Nature

By Veronique Greenwood
March 11, 2016
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A disarmingly simple model of ecology does everything well — except predict how rapidly nature can change. Can it become more realistic while still avoiding all of biology’s messy complexities?

Quantized Columns

Deep Secrets and the Thrill of Discovery

By Sean B. Carroll
February 25, 2016
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The biologist Sean B. Carroll rediscovers the scientific thrill of an unexpected revelation.

origins of life

How to Build Life in a Pre-Darwinian World

By Emily Singer
February 16, 2016
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Perhaps chemistry played a more instrumental role in the origin of life than scientists thought.

astrobiology

Scientists Debate Signatures of Alien Life

By Natalie Wolchover
February 2, 2016
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Searching for signs of life on faraway planets, astrobiologists must decide which telltale biosignature gases to target.

Q&A

Searching for the Algorithms Underlying Life

By John Pavlus
January 28, 2016
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The biological world is computational at its core, argues computer scientist Leslie Valiant.

neuroscience

New Clues to How the Brain Maps Time

By Emily Singer
January 26, 2016
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The same brain cells that track location in space appear to also count beats in time. The research suggests that our thoughts may take place on a mental space-time canvas.

Biology

How Strange Twists in DNA Orchestrate Life

By Emily Singer
January 5, 2016
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Coils and twirls in DNA’s double-helix change how the molecule behaves, opening a new role for topology in the study of life.

Biology

The Incredible Shrinking Sex Chromosome

By Emily Singer
December 1, 2015
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Nature offers species a panoply of ways to determine an organism’s sex. That flexibility suggests we need not be concerned about losing sex chromosomes, but it raises the question of why such a fundamental property is so variable.


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