//www.koonmotors.com/news/fossils_ruins/origin_of_life/ Research into the origin of life. Learn how certain small molecule interactions may have been responsible for the life itself. You will find scientific theories and findings here. en-us Sun, 10 Sep 2023 22:54:38 EDT Sun, 10 Sep 2023 22:54:38 EDT 60 //www.koonmotors.com/images/scidaily-logo-rss.png//www.koonmotors.com/news/fossils_ruins/origin_of_life/ For more science news, visit ScienceDaily. //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/09/230905202507.htm Right at the bottom of the deep sea, the first very simple forms of life on earth probably emerged a long time ago. Today, the deep sea is known for its bizarre fauna. Intensive research is being conducted into how the number of species living on the sea floor have changed in the meantime. Some theories say that the ecosystems of the deep sea have emerged again and again after multiple mass extinctions and oceanic upheavals. Today's life in the deep sea would thus be comparatively young in the history of the Earth. But there is increasing evidence that parts of this world are much older than previously thought. Tue, 05 Sep 2023 20:25:07 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/09/230905202507.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/09/230905125010.htm A new study has uncovered intriguing insights into the evolution of plant biology, effectively rewriting the history of how they evolved over the past billion years. Tue, 05 Sep 2023 12:50:10 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/09/230905125010.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/08/230831142901.htm An international team of marine scientists has studied the DNA of family groups from four different whale species to estimate their mutation rates. Using the newly determined rates, the group found that the number of humpback whales in the North Atlantic before whaling was 86 percent lower than earlier studies suggested. Thu, 31 Aug 2023 14:29:01 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/08/230831142901.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/08/230831121645.htm Using synchrotron techniques, scientists have unveiled important information on The Great Oxidation Event by studying apatite inclusions in zircon crystals from old magmas. Thu, 31 Aug 2023 12:16:45 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/08/230831121645.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/08/230823122549.htm Regulatory genes -- genes that control how other genes are used -- are responsible for 69% of the heritability of dairy cattle traits such as milk production and fertility, according to a new study. This contribution is 44% more than expected and much higher than previous studies of regulatory genes in humans. The findings, reported by a team of animal and human geneticists, could improve the efficiency of agricultural breeding programs. The study also helps solve the longstanding mystery of why mammalian genomes contain so much noncoding DNA. Wed, 23 Aug 2023 12:25:49 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/08/230823122549.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/08/230817164019.htm An extremely rare collection of 160-million-year-old sea spider fossils from Southern France are closely related to living species, unlike older fossils of their kind. Thu, 17 Aug 2023 16:40:19 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/08/230817164019.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/08/230815151131.htm 科学家重建和比较分子语言s at the origin of life -- opening new doors for the development of novel nanotechnologies. Tue, 15 Aug 2023 15:11:31 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/08/230815151131.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/08/230809164700.htm Fossilized feces preserve evidence of ancient parasites that infected an aquatic predator over 200 million years ago, according to a new study. Wed, 09 Aug 2023 16:47:00 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/08/230809164700.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/08/230809130724.htm New research links chemical changes in seawater to volcanic activity and changes. Wed, 09 Aug 2023 13:07:24 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/08/230809130724.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/08/230809130654.htm A new DNA study has nuanced the picture of how different groups intermingled during the European Stone Age, but also how certain groups of people were actually isolated. Researchers produced new genetic data from 56 Central and Eastern European individuals from the Stone Age. Wed, 09 Aug 2023 13:06:54 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/08/230809130654.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/08/230809130617.htm A 390-million-year-old moss called Takakia lives in some of Earth's most remote places, including the icy cliffs of the Tibetan Plateau. In a decade-long project, a team of scientists climbed some of the tallest peaks in the world to find Takakia, sequence its DNA for the first time, and study how climate change is impacting the moss. Their results show that Takakia is one of the fastest evolving species ever studied -- but it likely isn't evolving fast enough to survive climate change. Wed, 09 Aug 2023 13:06:17 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/08/230809130617.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/08/230804123715.htm Catalytic molecules can form metabolically active clusters by creating and following concentration gradients -- this is the result of a new study. Their model predicts the self-organization of molecules involved in metabolic pathways, adding a possible new mechanism to the theory of the origin of life. The results can help to better understand how molecules participating in complex biological networks can form dynamic functional structures, and provide a platform for experiments on the origins of life. Fri, 04 Aug 2023 12:37:15 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/08/230804123715.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/08/230802132018.htm A chemical process used in the browning of food to give it its distinct smell and taste is probably happening deep in the oceans, where it helped create the conditions necessary for life. Known as the Maillard reaction after the French scientist who discovered it, the process converts small molecules of organic carbon into bigger molecules known as polymers. In the kitchen, it is used to create flavors and aromas out of sugars. But a research team argues that on the sea floor, the process has had a more fundamental effect, where it has helped to raise oxygen and reduce carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere, to create the conditions for complex life forms to emerge and thrive on Earth. Wed, 02 Aug 2023 13:20:18 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/08/230802132018.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/08/230801163251.htm Earth's oldest craters could give scientists critical information about the structure of the early Earth and the composition of bodies in the solar system as well as help to interpret crater records on other planets. But geologists can't find them, and they might never be able to, according to a new study. Tue, 01 Aug 2023 16:32:51 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/08/230801163251.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/07/230727143913.htm 一个国际研究小组的语言学家和遗传学家has achieved a significant breakthrough in our understanding of the origins of Indo-European, a family of languages spoken by nearly half of the world's population. Thu, 27 Jul 2023 14:39:13 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/07/230727143913.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/07/230726171255.htm DNA analysis of 34 individuals buried at Machu Picchu revealed that many traveled alone from throughout the Inca Empire. Wed, 26 Jul 2023 17:12:55 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/07/230726171255.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/07/230726113054.htm The Neolithic burial site of Gurgy 'les Noisats' in France revealed two unprecedentedly large family trees which allowed a Franco-German team to explore the social organization of the 6,700-year-old community. Based on multiple lines of evidence, the team describes a close kin group which practiced monogamy and female exogamy, and experienced generally stable times. Wed, 26 Jul 2023 11:30:54 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/07/230726113054.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/07/230718105621.htm No, oxygen didn't catalyze the swift blossoming of Earth's first multicellular organisms. The result defies a 70-year-old assumption about what caused an explosion of oceanic fauna hundreds of millions of years ago. Tue, 18 Jul 2023 10:56:21 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/07/230718105621.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/07/230714114804.htm Scientists have discovered that the genes required for learning, memory, aggression and other complex behaviors originated around 650 million years ago. Fri, 14 Jul 2023 11:48:04 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/07/230714114804.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/07/230713142054.htm Butterflies and moths share 'blocks' of DNA dating back more than 200 million years, new research shows. Thu, 13 Jul 2023 14:20:54 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/07/230713142054.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/07/230712165157.htm Portable chemical imaging technology can reveal hidden details in ancient Egyptian paintings, according to new research. Wed, 12 Jul 2023 16:51:57 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/07/230712165157.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/07/230710180527.htm Researchers have finally settled a decades-long dispute about the evolutionary origins of the pygmy right whale. Mon, 10 Jul 2023 18:05:27 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/07/230710180527.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/07/230710180446.htm Research shows global cooling of the climate 10 million years ago led to an explosion of diversity in terrestrial orchids. Mon, 10 Jul 2023 18:04:46 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/07/230710180446.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/06/230628130358.htm Urea reacts extremely quickly under the conditions that existed when our planet was newly formed. This new insight furthers our understanding of how life on Earth might have begun. Wed, 28 Jun 2023 13:03:58 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/06/230628130358.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/06/230623161208.htm The Bachman's warbler, a songbird that was last seen in North America nearly 40 years ago, was a distinct species and not a hybrid of its two living sister species, according a new study in which the full genomes of seven museum specimens of the bird were sequenced. Fri, 23 Jun 2023 16:12:08 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/06/230623161208.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/06/230622182815.htm According to a new study, eukaryotes -- complex life forms with nuclei in their cells, including all the world's plants, animals, insects and fungi -- trace their roots to a common Asgard archaean ancestor. That means eukaryotes are, in the parlance of evolutionary biologists, a 'well-nested clade' within Asgard archaea, similar to how birds are one of several groups within a larger group called dinosaurs, sharing a common ancestor. Thu, 22 Jun 2023 18:28:15 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/06/230622182815.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/06/230620113811.htm Research sheds light on human evolution, and demonstrates an approach for identifying significant differences in how genes are used between closely-related species. Tue, 20 Jun 2023 11:38:11 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/06/230620113811.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/06/230616161908.htm A 3D model of a 407-million-year-old plant fossil has overturned thinking on the evolution of leaves. The research has also led to fresh insights about spectacular patterns found in plants. Fri, 16 Jun 2023 16:19:08 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/06/230616161908.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/06/230614220724.htm Digital modelling of legendary fossil's soft tissue suggests Australopithecus afarensis had powerful leg and pelvic muscles suited to tree dwelling, but knee muscles that allowed fully erect walking. Wed, 14 Jun 2023 22:07:24 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/06/230614220724.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/06/230614220521.htm Many men in northern Europe over the age of 60 suffer from the so-called Viking disease, which means that the fingers lock in a bent position. Now researchers have used data from over 7,000 affected individuals to look for genetic risk factors for the disease. The findings show that three of the strongest risk factors are inherited from Neanderthals. Wed, 14 Jun 2023 22:05:21 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/06/230614220521.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/06/230613190828.htm Lacking bones, brains, and even a complete gut, the body plans of simple animals like sea anemones appear to have little in common with humans and their vertebrate kin. Nevertheless, new research shows that appearances can be deceiving, and that a common genetic toolkit can be deployed in different ways to drive embryological development to produce very different adult body plans. It is well established that sea anemones, corals, and their jellyfish relatives shared a common ancestor with humans that plied the Earth's ancient oceans over 600 million years ago. A new study from the Gibson Lab, published in Current Biology on June 13, 2023, illuminates the genetic basis for body plan development in the starlet sea anemone, Nematostella vectensis. This new knowledge paints a vivid picture of how some of the earliest animals on earth progressed from egg to embryo to adult. Tue, 13 Jun 2023 19:08:28 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/06/230613190828.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/06/230613190821.htm Hybrid plants and animals have complicated genomes. A biologist has discovered a way to reveal their parent species. Tue, 13 Jun 2023 19:08:21 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/06/230613190821.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/06/230608120950.htm The Daitari greenstone belt shares a similar geologic make-up when compared to the greenstones exposed in the Barberton and Nondweni areas of South Africa and those from the Pilbara Craton of north-western Australia. Thu, 08 Jun 2023 12:09:50 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/06/230608120950.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/06/230607124112.htm 新发现的生物标志物特征指向一个whole range of previously unknown organisms that dominated complex life on Earth about a billion years ago. They differed from complex eukaryotic life as we know it, such as animals, plants and algae in their cell structure and likely metabolism, which was adapted to a world that had far less oxygen in the atmosphere than today. Wed, 07 Jun 2023 12:41:12 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/06/230607124112.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/06/230601182927.htm The symbiotic organisms that live in corals and provide them with their dramatic colors contain fragments of ancient RNA viruses that are as much as 160 million years old. Thu, 01 Jun 2023 18:29:27 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/06/230601182927.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/05/230531150053.htm Geneticists have unearthed a major event in the ancient history of sturgeons and paddlefish that has significant implications for the way we understand evolution. They have pinpointed a previously hidden 'whole genome duplication' (WGD) in the common ancestor of these species, which seemingly opened the door to genetic variations that may have conferred an advantage around the time of a major mass extinction some 200 million years ago. Wed, 31 May 2023 15:00:53 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/05/230531150053.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/05/230530203036.htm A new study examined how bivalves -- the group that includes clams, mussels, scallops, and oysters -- evolved among many others in the period of rapid evolution known as the Cambrian Explosion. The team found that though many other lineages burst into action and quickly evolved a wide variety of forms and functions, the bivalves lagged behind. The study has implications for how we understand evolution and the impact of extinctions. Tue, 30 May 2023 20:30:36 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/05/230530203036.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/05/230530125355.htm Researchers have identified three 4,000-year-old British cases of Yersinia pestis, the bacteria causing the plague -- the oldest evidence of the plague in Britain to date. Tue, 30 May 2023 12:53:55 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/05/230530125355.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/05/230517122111.htm Surprisingly, genome comparisons have failed to resolve a major question in animal evolution: Which living animals are the descendants of the earliest animals to evolve in the world's oceans? Scientists performed a detailed chromosomal analysis that comes down definitively in favor of comb jellies, or ctenophores, as the most recent common ancestor of all animals, or the sister taxa to all animals. Sponges evolved later. Wed, 17 May 2023 12:21:11 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/05/230517122111.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/05/230517121424.htm In testing the genetic material of current populations in Africa and comparing against existing fossil evidence of early Homo sapiens populations there, researchers have uncovered a new model of human evolution -- overturning previous beliefs that a single African population gave rise to all humans. Wed, 17 May 2023 12:14:24 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/05/230517121424.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/05/230515131957.htm Scientists have discovered where butterflies originated and which plants the first butterflies relied on for food. To reach these conclusions, researchers created the world's largest butterfly tree of life, which they used as a guide to trace trace the evolution of butterflies through time in a four-dimensional puzzle that led back to North and Central America. Mon, 15 May 2023 13:19:57 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/05/230515131957.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/05/230515131627.htm A new study has produced the most detailed genetic analysis of people living in the Canadian province of Newfoundland to date, demonstrating a unique founder population structure that could be used for the identification and study of health-related genetic variants. Mon, 15 May 2023 13:16:27 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/05/230515131627.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/05/230512144800.htm Scientists have precisely identified base pairs of the human genome that remained consistent over millions of years of mammalian evolution, and which play a crucial role in human disease. The team analyzed the genomes of 240 mammals, including humans and identified base pairs that were 'constrained' -- meaning they remained generally consistent -- across mammal species over the course of evolution. The most constrained base pairs in mammals were over seven times more likely to be causal for human disease and complex trait, and over 11 times more likely when researchers looked at the most constrained base pairs in primates alone. Fri, 12 May 2023 14:48:00 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/05/230512144800.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/05/230511164621.htm A new group of mitochondrial viruses confined to the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi Glomeromycotina may represent an ancestral lineage of mitoviruses. Thu, 11 May 2023 16:46:21 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/05/230511164621.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/05/230511164615.htm An international team has reconstructed the evolution of groundwater in the Great Basin, USA -- one of the driest regions on Earth -- up to 350,000 years into the past with unprecedented accuracy. The results shed new light on the effects of climate change on water supply and provide important insights for the sustainable use of groundwater resources. 2023年5月11日星期四16:46:15美国东部时间 //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/05/230511164615.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/05/230510120539.htm Around 500 million years ago life in the oceans rapidly diversified. In the blink of an eye -- at least in geological terms -- life transformed from simple, soft-bodied creatures to complex multicellular organisms with shells and skeletons. Now, research has shown that the diversification of life at this time also led to a drastic change in the chemistry of Earth's crust -- the uppermost layer we walk on and, crucially, the layer which provides many of the nutrients essential to life. Wed, 10 May 2023 12:05:39 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/05/230510120539.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/05/230510120531.htm Over 3,000 generations of laboratory evolution, researchers watched as their model organism, 'snowflake yeast,' began to adapt as multicellular individuals. In new research, the team shows how snowflake yeast evolved to be physically stronger and more than 20,000 times larger than their ancestor. Their study is the first major report on the ongoing Multicellularity Long-Term Evolution Experiment (MuLTEE), which the team hopes to run for decades. Wed, 10 May 2023 12:05:31 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/05/230510120531.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/05/230509122008.htm 科学家们利用mitochondrial DNA to trace a female lineage from northern coastal China to the Americas. By integrating contemporary and ancient mitochondrial DNA, the team found evidence of at least two migrations: one during the last ice age, and one during the subsequent melting period. Around the same time as the second migration, another branch of the same lineage migrated to Japan, which could explain Paleolithic archeological similarities between the Americas, China, and Japan. Tue, 09 May 2023 12:20:08 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/05/230509122008.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/05/230508104930.htm Humans inherited genetic material from Neanderthals that affects the shape of our noses, finds a new study. Mon, 08 May 2023 10:49:30 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/05/230508104930.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/05/230503121312.htm An international research team has for the first time successfully isolated ancient human DNA from a Paleolithic artefact: a pierced deer tooth discovered in Denisova Cave in southern Siberia. To preserve the integrity of the artefact, they developed a new, nondestructive method for isolating DNA from ancient bones and teeth. From the DNA retrieved they were able to reconstruct a precise genetic profile of the woman who used or wore the pendant, as well as of the deer from which the tooth was taken. Genetic dates obtained for the DNA from both the woman and the deer show that the pendant was made between 19,000 and 25,000 years ago. The tooth remains fully intact after analysis, providing testimony to a new era in ancient DNA research, in which it may become possible to directly identify the users of ornaments and tools produced in the deep past. Wed, 03 May 2023 12:13:12 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/05/230503121312.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/05/230502132258.htm Researchers have proposed a new evolutionary model for the origin of a kingdom of viruses called Bamfordvirae, suggesting a billion-years evolutionary arms race between two groups within this kingdom and their hosts. Tue, 02 May 2023 13:22:58 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/05/230502132258.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/05/230502132253.htm According to researchers, a new analysis of an 80-million-year-old permineralized pollen cone found in the Campanian Holz Shale formation located in Silverado Canyon, California, offers a more accurate cycad natural history -- one where the plants diversified during the Cretaceous. Tue, 02 May 2023 13:22:53 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/05/230502132253.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/04/230427173438.htm 什么是人类基因组缺乏相比genomes of other primates might have been as crucial to the development of humankind as what has been added during our evolutionary history, according to a new study led by researchers at Yale and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. The new findings, published April 28 in the journal Science, fill an important gap in what is known about historical changes to the human genome. Thu, 27 Apr 2023 17:34:38 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/04/230427173438.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/04/230427173435.htm Even though it is important to know where these variations are located in the genome, it's also useful to know how or why these genetic variations happened in the first place. Thu, 27 Apr 2023 17:34:35 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/04/230427173435.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/04/230427114523.htm Landmark research by mathematicians sets out the definitive picture of biological adaptation at the level of intermolecular interactions. Thu, 27 Apr 2023 11:45:23 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/04/230427114523.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/04/230424223113.htm Genetic analysis links 3,000-year-old bone found in cave to modern Alaska Natives. Mon, 24 Apr 2023 22:31:13 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/04/230424223113.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/04/230424103327.htm By studying green algae in Swedish lakes, a research team has succeeded in identifying which environmental conditions promote multicellularity. The results give us new clues to the amazing paths of evolution. Mon, 24 Apr 2023 10:33:27 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/04/230424103327.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/04/230418101425.htm The diverse swimming techniques of the ancient reptiles that ruled the Mesozoic seas have been revealed. Tue, 18 Apr 2023 10:14:25 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/04/230418101425.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/04/230418101414.htm Researchers have discovered how long ago the Australian Nullarbor plain dried out, with a new approach shedding light on how ancient climate change altered some of the driest regions of our planet. Tue, 18 Apr 2023 10:14:14 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/04/230418101414.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/04/230413154336.htm Origin-of-life chemists propose that glyoxylate could have been the original source of sugars on the 'prebiotic' Earth Thu, 13 Apr 2023 15:43:36 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/04/230413154336.htm