Category archives: Evolution

Hips might not lie but body fat tells more about female physical attractiveness

Hips might not lie but body fat tells more about female physical attractiveness

AnthropologyEvolutionHealth

By Rosa García-Verdugo

A lot has been said and written about what makes women physically attractive, from having full lips and/or breasts to being shorter than a man, to having a symmetrical face to having a low waist-hip ratio (WHR), all being indicators, at least in theory, of potential reproductive fitness . For instance, a low WHR has […]

Opening the systemic avenue from chemistry to biology

Opening the systemic avenue from chemistry to biology

BiochemistryBiologyChemistryEvolution

By Invited Researcher

A uthor: Kepa Ruiz-Mirazo, Permanent Researcher, University of the Basque Country (UPV-EHU) Although «cracking the origins-of-life puzzle», regardless of the reputation of the journalist who tells the news, is clearly not within the reach of science quite yet, the article published a few weeks ago by Sutherland and colleagues in the UK , does constitute […]

The beginning of life, uncracked by cyanide?

The beginning of life, uncracked by cyanide?

BiochemistryBiologyChemistryEvolution

By Isabel Perez Castro

“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 […]

The ribosome world hypothesis

The ribosome world hypothesis

BiologyEvolution

By Francisco R. Villatoro

The ribosome may be a missing link in the evolution of life. This suggestive proposal has been published by Meredith Root-Bernstein, Oxford University, UK, and her father Robert Root-Bernstein, Michigan State University, USA, in the Journal of Theoretical Biology . Their hypothesis is that primordial ribosomes were self-replicating intermediates between the prebiotic world and the […]

Epigenetics takes us back to the Galápagos

Epigenetics takes us back to the Galápagos

BiologyEvolutionGenetics

By Carlos Romá-Mateo

Although not the most important among the many different animals studied by Charles Darwin during his amazing journeys on board the Beagle, the little finches from the Galápagos Islands have become one of the most popular representatives of Darwin’s theory of natural selection. They embody the process of speciation forced by environmental conditions, in the […]