“In the beginning, there was simplicity” Richard Dawkins, “The selfish gene”, chapter 2 The question of how life began on Earth is as old as the human race and has occupied the thoughts and time of scientists and philosophers for centuries, often causing conflict throughout history. From a scientific point of view, the several possibilities […]
On 6 June, 1944 (also termed “the D-day”), the Allied army irrupted into the shores of western France in what was called the Invasion of Normandy, during the last stages of World War II. The operation began with hundreds of amphibian landing vehicles emerging from the sea and unloading their cargo – the Infantry divisions […]
Tracking back human civilization there are evidences of dog domestication as far as 10,000 years ago. During this time, the ancient wolves’ genome evolved to give rise to the domestic dog that gradually adapted to human habitat as many organic functions were selected in detriment of others. Dogs have similar circadian rhythms, have adapted to […]
In 1968, the Canadian psychologist from McGill University Ronald Melzack described pain as being multidimensional and complex, with sensory-discriminative, affective-motivational and cognitive-evaluative components . Such definition may be a hint as to why the biological meaning of pain has been an (to date) unceasing matter of debate since Aristotle, who thought pain is just a […]
Diabetes is becoming a huge problem in our society, affecting nowadays one in every 20 people in this planet. Although some people don’t know, diabetes is a very serious disease that can cause damage in the heart, blood vessels, eyes, kidneys and nerves, producing different neuropathies, kidney failures, blindness and increasing in the risk of […]
Biochemistry • Biology • Materials • Molecular biology • Neuroscience
Some jellyfish species are beautifully fluorescent in the dark ocean, emitting light from different parts of their bodies in a process that is thought to help them to warn off predators. The molecular biology behind this process of glowing is possible thanks to one of the most famous proteins in molecular biology, the green fluorescent […]
Although we assume evolution of complex life forms as a matter of fact, we must admit that our brains are not ready for such an odd concept. Even though we can slightly imagine what a million year means, when we finally stare at some amazing life beings, we cannot fully comprehend the changes needed over […]
Biochemistry • Biomedicine • Molecular biology • Neurobiology
Natural selection has been sculpturing living organisms for millions of years, enabling them to get adapted to an ever-changing environment. Gradually, certain traits are selected over others based on the advantage they confer to the population. Natural selection is not a random process and it relies on genetic variation. Random mutations serve as the substrate […]
A uthor: Kepa Ruiz-Mirazo, Permanent Researcher, University of the Basque Country (UPV-EHU) The effort of mapping ignorance in biology is especially frustrating –or, if the mood and attitude of the scientist afford it, especially motivating– because solid, definite answers remain minimal compared to the amount of open issues and uncertainties that new discoveries in this […]
How are we like we are? What defines our mind, our character, and our behaviour? Men made themselves these questions in all ages of humanity. From the age of myths to the age of science the answers have been very many. We do not have an adequate answer yet, maybe never. However, the rise of […]