Tag: biology
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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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Brain. Skin. Thinking. Not being.
Brain activity has an unmistakable signature: the firing of neurons, as brain cells relay information to one another through the triggered release of chemical neurotransmitters, which are received by the long, branching dendrites of neighbouring cells. This microscopic ritual is distinctive, but it doesn't belong only to neurons. Scientists have now found bursts of neuron-like…
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Ancestral asymmetries…
The left and right side of the brain are involved in different tasks. This functional lateralization and associated brain asymmetry are well documented in humans, but little is known about brain asymmetry in our closest living relatives, the great apes. Using endocasts (imprints of the brain on cranial bones), scientists now challenge the long-held notion…
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Awareness.
A research indicates that trees might be 'aware' of their size: Scientists found out that birch trees adjust their stem thickness to support their weight. (1) We hold our consciousness so high. Never have we thought to look down to the dirt. Never have we thought that this might be the lowest of the possible…
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Life. A mess…
Life is built with three major components: RNA and DNA - the genetic code - and proteins, the cells that carry out their instructions. Most likely, the first cells had all three pieces. But first, RNA, DNA or proteins had to form without their partners. One common theory, known as the "RNA World" hypothesis, proposes…
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