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Hot Topic
Origins
Origin & Evolution of Life
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Excluding Enzymes
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| Topic: Origin & Evolution of Life |
06/27/09 |
| Researchers have created new materials that assemble and disassemble in a way similar to DNA. The materials are constructed from molecules that would be expected to exist on the primordial Earth, and could help answer questions about the origin of life. |
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Timetree of Life
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| Topic: Origin & Evolution of Life |
06/14/09 |
| The Timetree of Life project is now providing scientists with easy access to information about when living species and their ancestors originated. The resource could prove useful for astrobiologists studying the origin and evolution of life on Earth. |
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Doubting the Dinosaur-Bird Connection
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| Topic: Origin & Evolution of Life |
06/10/09 |
| New research is casting doubts about the connections between dinosaurs and birds. The results indicate that although birds and dinosaurs may have shared a common ancestor, birds did not directly descend from dinosaurs. The study sheds new light on the processes behind the evolution of life on Earth. |
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The Search for Life on Earth
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| Topic: Origin & Evolution of Life |
06/08/09 |
| A great deal of money and effort have gone into searching for life on other worlds. But what if a second genesis of life, a type of life unrelated to DNA-based life, is here on Earth? Paul Davies urges the scientific community to take a look. |
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Preserved Proteins
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| Topic: Origin & Evolution of Life |
05/03/09 |
| Scientists have discovered an ancient protein preserved in the 80 million-year-old bones of a dinosaur. The protein will provide scientists with a truly unique look into the evolutionary history of life on our planet. |
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Darwin in a Test Tube
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| Topic: Origin & Evolution of Life |
05/01/09 |
| Scientists have discovered a way to make molecules evolve and compete according to the laws of Darwinian evolution. The results of their research shed light on how life can evolve at the molecular level and may provide clues about how life on Earth originated from simple molecules. |
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New Blow for Asteroid-Extinction Theory
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| Topic: Origin & Evolution of Life |
04/28/09 |
| Scientists have long believed that the Chicxulub crater in the northern Yucutan was evidence of a massive, extra-terrestrial impact that signaled the end of the dinosaurs. A new study indicates that this may not be the case. In fact, the dinosaurs may not have gone extinct until 300,000 years after the Chicxulub impact. |
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Reanimating Extinct Genes
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| Topic: Origin & Evolution of Life |
04/27/09 |
| Can evolution be played over again in the lab? A group of researchers plans to insert an ancient gene in a modern day bacteria and see if this gene will mutate back to its current-day form. The results will give insight into how unique the evolutionary path may be. |
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How Life Shatters Chemistry's Mirror
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| Topic: Origin & Evolution of Life |
04/06/09 |
| Handedness, or "chirality," is when molecules come in two forms that are mirror images of each other, like right- and left-handed gloves. Even though chiral molecules are produced equally in nature, life seems to prefer one hand over the other. The reason for this is a mystery that scientists are struggling to answer. |
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Sponges are Separate
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| Topic: Origin & Evolution of Life |
04/04/09 |
| Scientists have managed to explain the relationships between certain animal groups that appeared early in evolutionary history. The study is helping scientists reconstruct the "Tree of Life" on Earth. |
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