|
|
Hot Topic
Origins
Origin & Evolution of Life
|
|
| |
|
|
How Water Shapes DNA
|
| Topic: Origin & Evolution of Life |
04/27/11 |
| New research shows that water molecules could actually influence the structure of DNA. The finding could provide clues about how DNA originated, and how it functions in modern cells. |
|
|
|
|
Fossils Provide New Look at Ancient Climate
|
| Topic: Origin & Evolution of Life |
04/25/11 |
| Fifty million-year-old fossils from ancestors of today's dugongs are helping scientists understand the temperature and composition of the waters in which they swam. The study is providing new information about climate change events, both ancient and modern. |
|
|
|
|
The Evolving Human Super-Brain
|
| Topic: Origin & Evolution of Life |
04/24/11 |
| Could the evolution of the human mind, and its ability to create a potentially infinite variety of thoughts, be attributed to the formation of a 'super-brain'. One theory about this collective mind centers around and event that took place in Africa no later than 75,000 years ago. |
|
|
|
|
|
Achieving Eternal Life
|
| Topic: Origin & Evolution of Life |
04/22/11 |
| New research shows how sea squirts use the enzyme telomerase to protect their DNA and delay aging. The study provides insight into the molecular, genetic, and biochemical mechanisms that can effect evolution. |
|
|
|
|
Eyes of Rock
|
| Topic: Origin & Evolution of Life |
04/15/11 |
| Scientists have discovered a simple mollusk that may use eyes made of a calcium carbonate crystal to spot predators. The finding provides a new example of how evolution leads to unique traits for life. |
|
|
|
|
In Memoriam: Dr. Baruch S. 'Barry' Blumberg 1925 - 2011
|
| Topic: Origin & Evolution of Life |
04/07/11 |
| Nobel Laureate Baruch S. Blumberg died of an apparent heart attack on April 5, while attending a conference at NASA Ames Research Center. He was 85. Known to friends and colleagues as Barry, Dr. Blumberg served as the first director of the NASA Astrobiology Institute (1999-2002) and an advocate for astrobiology ever since. |
|
|
|
|
A Hot, Acidic Primordial Soup
|
| Topic: Origin & Evolution of Life |
04/06/11 |
| New research has identified a group of ancient enzymes that were adapted to changes in ocean temperature and acidity. The study provides evidence that life on early Earth may have lived in a hot, acidic environment, and then evolved to survive in today's cooler, less acidic world. |
|
|
|
|
Poison Could Have Set the Stage for Life
|
| Topic: Origin & Evolution of Life |
04/05/11 |
| Scientists have long wondered how carbon-containing material became a part of the solar system. The answer might be related to poisonous formaldehyde. |
|
|
|
|
|
Not Only the Fittest Survive
|
| Topic: Origin & Evolution of Life |
03/29/11 |
| A new theory about evolution has called into question the idea that 'only the fittest survive.' This means that biodiversity may evolve where previously thought impossible. |
|
|
|
|
Are You a Martian?
|
| Topic: Origin & Evolution of Life |
03/26/11 |
| Could life on Earth have descended from organisms that originated on Mars, and then were carried to our planet by meteorites? A new instrument that is currently being developed could provide the answer. |
|
|
|
|
|
