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Content with the tag: “evolution”
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Follow the Elements
New research funded by the NASA Astrobiology Institute is providing insight into how the distribution of elements in Earth’s oceans has affected the evolution of life over time. The research sheds light on how the biosphere of Earth has changed alongside the planetary environment, and will help astrobiologists understand the conditions necessary for life on other planets.
Source: [Astrobiology Magazine]
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New Enzymes in the Laboratory
A new paper in Nature this week from NAI’s NASA Ames Research Center Team describes a new technique they’ve developed through which completely new enzymes can be evolved in the laboratory. The process does not require prior understanding of how the enzymes will work, but uses product formation as the sole selection criterion.
Source: [Link]
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A New Model for the Early Ocean
NAI’s Marine Biological Laboratory and Carnegie Institution of Washington Teams are contributing authors on a new paper in Earth and Planetary Science Letters presenting a new model for the evolution of Proterozoic deep seawater composition based on rare earth elements. Their data suggest transitional, suboxic conditions in the deep ocean (vs. sulfidic), which likely limited nutrient concentrations in seawater and, consequently, may have constrained biological evolution.
Source: [Link]
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Energy Conservation: Important Now, Important Then?
An alternative theory for the origin and evolution of life is proposed by scientists from NAI’s Pennsylvania State University Team in the current issue of Molecular Biology and Evolution. The theory, centering on the concept that an energy-conservation pathway was the major force which powered and directed the early evolution of the cell, provides insight into the evolution of the microbial production of methane.
Source: [Link]
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Timelines for the Evolution of Cyanobacteria
Former NAI Principal Investigator, Andy Knoll of Harvard University, and colleagues discuss the evolution of cyanobacteria in their new paper, “The evolutionary diversification of cyanobacteria: Molecular-phylogenetic and paleontological perspectives” in the April 4th issue of PNAS. The evolutionary timeline has implications for the rise of atmospheric oxygen on Earth.
Image courtesy of Micro*scope
Source: [Link]
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Teaching Evolution
Peter Ward of the University of Washington, the leader of the UW NAI Team, addresses the current attack on teaching evolution by an analogy with teaching students that the Earth is flat. Ward writes that “I teach evolution at the University of Washington. Even at the college level, it is a very difficult and demanding subject, and its abundant proofs require a detailed understanding of genetics, molecular biochemistry and paleontology. But for those who have made the intellectual journey to master these concepts, the stark explanatory power first realized by Charles Darwin more than 150 years ago shows clearly...
Source: [Link]
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Carl Woese and New Perspectives on Evolution
Scientists are proud when they discover a new species or genus of life, but one molecular biologist, Carl Woese, has the unique honor or discovering an entire domain of life, the archaea.
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A World Without Elephants?
Thoughts on the future of evolution with Harvard paleontologist Andy Knoll. Watch the video to experience the entire interview.
Source: [Link]
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