Under the threat of those annoying genetic parasites called viruses, eukaryotic cells developed, on the top of a wide innate defence, a curious and efficient RNA-based adaptive immune system referred as RNA interference or iRNA. You will find more info about this surveillance system, which detects and destroys foreign RNA molecules entering the cell with […]
Bacteria are the workhorses for a large number of biotechnological processes. From different fermentation processes to insulin production, they are widely used in industry due to their efficiency, fast duplication times and ease of maintenance. But often their behaviour it´s much more complex than one would expect from a unicellular organism. This is where the […]
Modern societies are growing old and we should be proud of such great accomplishment. Substantial improvement in hygiene, health and nutrition has allowed mankind to even surpass a three-digit age. Leaving any further social consideration aside, seems obvious that life sciences will have to make a big effort to understand the so called healthy ageing […]
The idea of a living fossil is rather intuitive. We think that a kind of organism deserves that denomination if it has been living in the planet during a very large period of time apparently without any change. A well known example of living fossil is the Ginkgo tree (Ginkgo biloba) because, although it is […]
… if you want to want to be alive. The rock band Wilco already said it back in 2002 when they released the much-acclaimed album Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. This simple statement found in one of the songs of that LP was able to summarise the paradoxical essence of life: death. But leaving any philosophical meaning […]
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 […]
A human body harbors around 37 trillion [1012] cells that came from a single fertilized egg by a process known as mitotic division or mitosis. While the first cellular divisions of an embryo occur without gaining mass, most of the following ones are linked to cell growth and are required for the correct development and […]
…at least not on their own. So, it´s already been over half a century since the humble proposition of Watson & Crick on the structure of DNA, (one of) the molecule(s) of life: a seminal discovery for the development of molecular biology that was to become arguably the most relevant discipline in last century´s life […]
We all know the story of that Swiss engineer who came up with the hoop-and-loop fastener system (also known under the brand name Velcro ) just by paying attention to the burdock burrs stuck in his clothes and his dog’s fur after a walk in the Alps. When he put these burrs under the microscope […]
Endemic species are part of the natural heritage of a region, and their preservation for future generations should receive the same kind of priority and public understanding as historical sites, because they share a common trait: if they disappear, they will be lost forever. Of course, conservation becomes especially thorny if we are not sure […]