Tag: biology
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Autophagy…
Autophagy, from the Greek for 'self-eating', is an essential process that isolates and recycles cellular components under conditions of stress or when resources are limited. Scientists have now reconstructed the first steps in the formation of autophagosomes. They show that tiny vesicles loaded with the protein Atg9 act as the seed from which the autophagosome…
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Fitness. Change. Stupid mirrors…
There's a paradox within the theory of evolution: The life forms that exist today are here because they were able to change when past environments disappeared. Yet, organisms evolve to fit into specific environmental niches. How do these mechanisms co-exist? A research tried to answer that question. There are two general possible solutions. First, the…
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Ignore… you!
Electric fish generate electric pulses to communicate with other fish and sense their surroundings. Some species broadcast shorter electric pulses, while others send out long ones. But all that zip-zapping in the water can get confusing. The fish need to filter out their own pulses so they can identify external messages and only respond to…
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Cooperation. Because of… cooperation?!
In nature, organisms often support each other in order to gain an advantage. However, this kind of cooperation contradicts the theory of evolution proposed by Charles Darwin: Why would organisms invest valuable resources to help others? Instead, they should rather use them for themselves, in order to win the evolutionary competition with other species. A…
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Die. It is for my own good.
Some worms are genetically predisposed to die before reaching old age, which appears to benefit the colony by reducing food demand, finds a new study. (1) Dying. For the sake of others. Why don’t you die? Do you wish to live? Unknown darkness. Dictating light. Unknown terror. Dictating pleasure. Petty humans. Living. For the sake…
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