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Hot Topic
Origins
Origin & Evolution of Life
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Fiction´s Most Realistic Vision of Our Astrobiological Future?
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| Topic: Origin & Evolution of Life |
01/26/09 |
| Visionary science writer Sir Arthur C Clarke, author of more than 100 books, died recently at the age of 90 in Sri Lanka. Once called ‘the first dweller in the electronic cottage´, his vision of an astrobiological future and its technology captured the popular imagination. In this essay from Astrobiology Magazine, European Edition, the science and culture of his novel, 2001: A Space Odyssey, is assessed. |
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Jawbone Tells Story of Evolution
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| Topic: Origin & Evolution of Life |
01/21/09 |
| The 410 million-year-old skull and jaws of a fish may yield important information about the origin and evolution of vertebrates on Earth. |
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Replicating RNA
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| Topic: Origin & Evolution of Life |
01/11/09 |
| Researchers have made steps toward understanding how life originated by synthesizing RNA enzymes that can replicate themselves without the help of additional molecules. |
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Linking Life's Elements
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| Topic: Origin & Evolution of Life |
01/03/09 |
| Researchers have unlocked new clues about how ancient organic molecules may have first combined to form biologically useful strands of RNA. This single-stranded precursor to DNA is essential for living cells, and some scientists believe the first life on Earth may have been RNA-based rather than DNA-based. |
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Astrobiology Top 10: The Spark of Life
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| Topic: Origin & Evolution of Life |
12/30/08 |
| Astrobiology Magazine is looking back over 2008, highlighting the top 10 astrobiology stories of the year. At number 4 is a re-examination of samples from a classic 'origin-of-life' experiment. The finding is that volcanoes may have played an important role in life's beginnings on Earth. (This story originally was published on October 19, 2008). |
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Astrobiology Top 10: Ancient Footprints in the Salt
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| Topic: Origin & Evolution of Life |
12/24/08 |
| Astrobiology Magazine is looking back over 2008, highlighting the top 10 astrobiology stories of the year. At number 10 is the discovery of ancient organism remnants preserved in salt crystals. The surprising finding could help astrobiologists search for signs of life on other planets. (This story originally was published on July 31, 2008). |
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Looking at LUCA
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| Topic: Origin & Evolution of Life |
12/21/08 |
| Scientists may have characterized the common ancestor of all life on Earth, LUCA (Last Universal Common Ancestor). This 3.8-billion-year-old organism was not the creature usually imagined, and may change ideas about early life on Earth. |
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Bilateral Bubble Bodies
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| Topic: Origin & Evolution of Life |
12/06/08 |
| A single-celled organism has been found leaving tracks on the ocean floor that look like those from larger, multicellular organisms. The finding is causing scientists to re-think the fossil record - and the timing of when complex, bilateral organisms developed. |
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Giving Life a Hand
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| Topic: Origin & Evolution of Life |
12/02/08 |
| The basic molecules of life have a predetermined 'handedness', or chiraliy, that scientists have been unable to explain. New research shows that chirality may have been induced by irradiation as the molecules traveled through space before arriving on Earth. |
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Bacteria Preserve Fossils
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| Topic: Origin & Evolution of Life |
11/26/08 |
| The activity of bacteria has often been viewed as detrimental to fossils. Now, researchers have found that bacterial biofilms may help preserve fossils of embryos and soft tissues. Such fossils are incredibly valuable in studying the evolution of life. |
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