Category archives: Biology

‘Microlightning’ in water droplets, a twist in the Miller-Urey experiment

‘Microlightning’ in water droplets, a twist in the Miller-Urey experiment

BiochemistryBiologyChemistry

By Mapping Ignorance

Life may not have begun with a dramatic lightning strike into the ocean but from many smaller “microlightning” exchanges among water droplets from crashing waterfalls or breaking waves. New research shows that water sprayed into a mixture of gases thought to be present in Earth’s early atmosphere can lead to the formation of organic molecules […]

Protocells may have formed in the proximity of prebiotic compounds

Protocells may have formed in the proximity of prebiotic compounds

BiochemistryBiologyChemistryDIPC Biochemistry

By DIPC

The origins of life on Earth remain one of the most fascinating and profound questions in science. A new research sheds light on this mystery by exploring how the building blocks of life could have formed under early Earth conditions. In this study, we focused on understanding how simple chemicals might have come together to […]

Life Through the Looking Glass: An Unprecedented Threat?

Life Through the Looking Glass: An Unprecedented Threat?

Biology

By Invited Researcher

Author: Ramón Muñoz-Chápuli has been Professor of Animal Biology in the University of Málaga until his retirement. He has investigated for forty years in the fields of developmental biology and animal evolution. On December 12th, the British newspaper The Guardian published the following headline: “An Unprecedented Risk to Life on Earth“ The article wasn’t about […]

The Antarctic <i>plastisphere</i>

The Antarctic plastisphere

Biology

By Invited Researcher

Authors: Pere Monràs i Riera, PhD candidate, Universitat de Barcelona and Elisenda Ballesté, assistant professor in Microbiology, Universitat de Barcelona Antarctica, the world’s most remote, harsh and pristine continent, is not free from marine pollution. Where human activity goes, plastic debris inevitably follows. What might the early explorers of this icy wilderness think today, upon […]

Machine learning cracked the protein-folding problem and won the 2024 Nobel Prize in chemistry

Machine learning cracked the protein-folding problem and won the 2024 Nobel Prize in chemistry

BiochemistryBiologyChemistryComputer science

By Invited Researcher

Author: Marc Zimmer, Professor of Chemistry, Connecticut College The 2024 Nobel Prize in chemistry recognized Demis Hassabis, John Jumper and David Baker for using machine learning to tackle one of biology’s biggest challenges: predicting the 3D shape of proteins and designing them from scratch. This year’s award stood out because it honored research that originated […]

Iberian lynx’s potential secret weapon against extinction

Iberian lynx’s potential secret weapon against extinction

BiologyGenetics

By Invited Researcher

Many large mammals have lost genetic diversity, often thanks to the actions of people shrinking their populations. The implications can be severe because without genetic diversity, a population does not have a “genetic database” to fall back on to adapt to environmental change. The Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus) is no stranger to this reduction in […]

The largest animal genome

The largest animal genome

BiologyGenetics

By Invited Researcher

Author: Ramón Muñoz-Chápuli has been Professor of Animal Biology in the University of Málaga until his retirement. He has investigated for forty years in the fields of developmental biology and animal evolution. Lungfish (Dipnoi) are fascinating animals. Despite having gills, they can breathe atmospheric air thanks to a pair of lungs. Their geographic distribution aligns […]

AINU, a powerful AI tool for studying cell heterogeneity

AINU, a powerful AI tool for studying cell heterogeneity

BiologyComputer scienceDIPC SupercomputingGenetics

By DIPC

Chromatin is a complex of DNA and histone, a protein, in the nucleus of a cell. One of the main functions of chromatin is to help DNA packing. Cellular phenotypic heterogeneity is a key determinant of many biological functions; yet, it is still not clear whether it stems from the modifications of the chromatin structure […]

<i>A. sudhausi</i>, the superworm

A. sudhausi, the superworm

Biology

By Invited Researcher

Author: Ramón Muñoz-Chápuli has been Professor of Animal Biology in the University of Málaga until his retirement. He has investigated for forty years in the fields of developmental biology and animal evolution. Nematode worms may not be very popular, but what we know about their abundance is astonishing. After arthropods, chordates, and molluscs, they constitute […]