What did the very first proteins look like — those that appeared on Earth around 3.7 billion years ago? Prof. Scientists have reconstructed protein sequences that may well resemble those ancestors of modern proteins, and their research suggests a way that these primitive proteins could have progressed to forming living cells.
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First dinosaur eggs were soft like a turtle’s: New study suggests that hard eggshells evolved at least three times in dinosaur family tree
New research suggests that the first dinosaurs laid soft-shelled eggs — a finding that contradicts established thought. The study analyzed the eggs of two vastly different non-avian dinosaurs and found that they resembled those of turtles in their microstructure, composition, and mechanical properties. The research also suggests that hard-shelled eggs evolved at least three times independently in the dinosaur family tree.
Industrial farming is driving global insect collapse
Four million tonnes of poison a year, most produced by four agribusiness giants, are killing essential insects everywhere. One-third of species face extinction.
Source: Industrial farming is driving global insect collapse
Covid Elders – How Elders Make Us Human
An anthropologist responds to the suggestion that older people sacrifice themselves for the sake of the economy in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Milky Way Contains 36 Contactable Alien Civilizations, Scientists Estimate
Scientists estimated how many alien societies in the Milky Way can send interstellar messages. But just because they can talk does not mean we will hear them.
Source: The Milky Way Contains 36 Contactable Alien Civilizations, Scientists Estimate – VICE
Super-potent human antibodies protect against COVID-19 in animal tests
Researchers have discovered antibodies in the blood of recovered COVID-19 patients that provide powerful protection against SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes the disease, when tested in animals and human cell cultures.
Spectacular bird’s-eye view? Hummingbirds see diverse colors humans can only imagine: Team trains wild hummingbirds to discriminate UV color combinations
While humans have three color cones in the retina sensitive to red, green and blue light, birds have a fourth color cone that can detect ultraviolet light. A research team trained wild hummingbirds to perform a series of experiments that revealed that the tiny birds also see combination colors like ultraviolet+green and ultraviolet+red.
Here’s why so many physicists are wrong about free will
A crude understanding of physics sees determinism at work in the Universe. Luckily, molecular uncertainty ensures this isn’t so
Source: Here’s why so many physicists are wrong about free will | Aeon Essays
Genes May Leave Some People More Vulnerable to Severe Covid-19
Why do some people infected with the coronavirus suffer only mild symptoms, while others become deathly ill?Geneticists have been scouring our DNA for clues. Now, a study by European scientists is the first to document a strong statistical link between genetic variations and Covid-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus.
Source: Genes May Leave Some People More Vulnerable to Severe Covid-19 | Portside
Endangered species: One species’ extinction can wipe out many more
Humans are causing a mass extinction. And humans can stop it.
Source: Endangered species: One species’ extinction can wipe out many more – Vox
