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Hot Topic
Origins
Origin & Evolution of Life
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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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Dinosaur-Killer was Soft on Algae
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| Topic: Origin & Evolution of Life |
10/02/09 |
| Molecular fossils of algae in the so-called “K-P boundary” point to a very fast recovery of these organisms following the meteorite impact that killed the dinosaurs. |
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Cooking Life's Ingredients, with a Pinch of Salt
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| Topic: Origin & Evolution of Life |
09/22/09 |
| By studying a chemical mixture thought to be present in the Earth's early oceans, scientists have discovered that amino acids can be 'cooked' into many other important building blocks of life when they are embedded in salt crusts. The finding could have important implications in our understanding of life's origins. |
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The Rise and Fall of Oxygen
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| Topic: Origin & Evolution of Life |
09/11/09 |
| New research confirms that a rise in atmospheric oxygen drove oxygenation of ancient oceans on Earth, and ultimately led to the evolution of complex animals. The study provides insight into how the Earth came to support the wide diversity of life we see today. |
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Zinc and UV Zapped Life into Being?
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| Topic: Origin & Evolution of Life |
09/03/09 |
| A new model for the origin of life says zinc may have played a vital role. If true, then the Sun’s UV radiation may have provided the energy necessary for life to arise. |
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Eating by Osmosis
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| Topic: Origin & Evolution of Life |
08/22/09 |
| New research shows that the oldest complex lifeforms on Earth likely fed by osmosis. The organisms lived in the oceans more than 540 million years ago and absorbed nutrients through their outer membrane. The study provides new insight into the evolution of life on Earth. |
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Endosymbiosis Timeline
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| Topic: Origin & Evolution of Life |
08/21/09 |
| Researchers have discovered that a key moment in the evolution of life on Earth occurred when two ancient microbes fused together to form a new class of organisms. More than 2.5 billion years ago, endosymbiosis was responsible for the appearance of organisms that could perform photosynthesis - changing life on our planet forever. |
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Seeing Scary Spiders
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| Topic: Origin & Evolution of Life |
08/06/09 |
| Using fossil specimens and new 3D models, researchers have identified early relatives of spiders that lived around 300 million years ago. The models allow scientists to see how the spiders where physically adapted to survive on ancient Earth. |
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The Rise and Fall of Species
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| Topic: Origin & Evolution of Life |
08/05/09 |
| A new study shows that new species of life on Earth emerge just as often as they die out, and that most evolution occurs in small bursts. The research has implications in understanding the history of life on our planet and the evolutionary processes that will shape the biosphere's future on Earth. |
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