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Hot Topic
Origins
Origin & Evolution of Life
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Gone With the Wind
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| Topic: Origin & Evolution of Life |
01/31/10 |
| Biologists have discovered the secret to the evolutionary longevity of bdelloid rotifers. These organisms are able to avoid parasites by drying up until they are exposed to a fresh drop of water. These unique lifeforms are helping scientists understand the complexities of life on Earth and the various methods that organisms have evolved for survival. |
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Gators Breathe Like Birds
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| Topic: Origin & Evolution of Life |
01/20/10 |
| By studying how alligators breathe, scientists have drawn new connections between the reptiles and modern birds. Their breathing method may have helped the dinosaurs' ancestors dominate the planet after one of Earth's worst mass extinctions. |
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Astrobiology Top 10: Reanimating Extinct Genes
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| Topic: Origin & Evolution of Life |
12/29/09 |
| AM is looking back over 2009, highlighting the top 10 astrobiology stories of the year. Our story number 5 is about research to insert ancient genes into modern bacteria. Will the bacteria evolve the same way it did in the past, or will it take an entirely new path? (This story originally was published on April 27, 2009). |
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Prussian Blue and the Origin of Life
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| Topic: Origin & Evolution of Life |
12/22/09 |
| By recreating the conditions present on the early Earth, researchers have shown that substances considered essential in forming basic biological molecules can be obtained from a salt called Prussian blue. These substances include hydrogen cyanide, urea, lactic acid and other important precursors for the origin of life. |
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Shallow Origins
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| Topic: Origin & Evolution of Life |
12/21/09 |
| New research, focusing on shallow hydrothermal vents, is shedding light on a possible location for where life on Earth began. |
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Fossils on the Edge of Forever
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| Topic: Origin & Evolution of Life |
12/14/09 |
| Astrobiologists have not yet found alien life on other planets. But the fossil record has evidence of aliens of another sort: the Ediacarans that lived on Earth millions of years ago. |
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Sinking Life in Shallow Seas
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| Topic: Origin & Evolution of Life |
11/25/09 |
| Scientists have revealed new information about a period of time spanning three of Earth's largest mass extinctions. The study shows how different marine environments - from oceans to seas that once covered large portions of the continents - respond differently to agents of mass extinction. |
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When Crocodiles Ate Dinosaurs
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| Topic: Origin & Evolution of Life |
11/21/09 |
| Scientists have unearthed the remains of five ancient crocodiles, including three newly named species. The finding provides new information about the evolutionary history of life on Earth. |
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Primordial Soup Not Simmering
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| Topic: Origin & Evolution of Life |
11/17/09 |
| Features discovered in 3.4 billion-year-old rocks indicate that temperatures on early Earth may have been dramatically cooler than previously believed. The finding could have implications in understanding the conditions in which life first evolved on our planet. |
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Uracil Made in the Lab
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| Topic: Origin & Evolution of Life |
11/08/09 |
| NASA scientists have reproduced uracil, a key component of the hereditary material, RNA. The uracil was created by exposing an ice sample containing the molecule pyrimidine to ultraviolet radiation under space-like conditions. The research may help astrobiologists understand how molecules for the origin of life were first made. |
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