Tag: biology
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“How” evolution works: Axioms and arrogance in today’s science… [OR: Why we need a philosophical tsunami to break the tea cup]
Research led by the European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) and the University of Washington has shown that the biological diversity needed for evolution can be generated by changes in protein modifications. The findings, published in Science, provide valuable insights into how different species adapt to different environments and could shed light on how pathogens evolve and…
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Why things happen? [OR: The vanity of the mechanistic view]
Forgetting. When it comes to maintaining sanity, forgetting is at least as important as remembering. Without it, the constant stream of stimuli – faces on the street, words read, items glanced at – would quickly overwhelm the mind. But the neural basis underlying the act of forgetting isn't well understood. A new study found that…
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Non thinking. As complex as thinking?
In 1959, a scientist named Edward Gray showed that the miniscule gaps between neurons where chemical messages are sent, called synapses, come in two main varieties, which researchers later dubbed "excitatory" and "inhibitory." Inhibitory synapses act as the brakes in the brain, preventing it from becoming overexcited. Researchers thought they were less sophisticated than their…
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Evolution. Possibilities. Capabilities. Reality.
Fish that have an affinity for land are rather common - 130 fish species are at least in part amphibious. Most of them stay out of water for a matter of seconds or minutes (scooting between ponds or hopping between tidal pools), but a few can live out of water for hours and days. The…
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Double genes. Redundant genes. Everything. Nothing.
The evolution of major novel traits - characteristics such as wings, flowers, horns or limbs - has long been known to play a key role in allowing organisms to exploit new opportunities in their surroundings. What's still up for debate, though, is how these important augmentations come about from a genetic point of view. New research…
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