Life

  1. Chemistry

    Flowerless plants make fancy amber

    A new analysis suggests that ancient seed plants made a version of the fossilized resin credited to more modern relatives

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  2. Life

    Mitochondria behind life span extension

    Study in flies suggests low-protein diet works through power-producing organelles.

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  3. Chemistry

    Earth’s ‘boring billion’ years blamed on sulfur-loving microbes

    A new study suggests these organisms could have kept oxygen levels low and waters toxic, stalling the evolution of complex life.

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  4. Paleontology

    Parasite may have felled a mighty T. rex

    An infection known to afflict modern birds may have led to starvation in several dinosaurs.

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  5. Paleontology

    Fish death, mammal extinction and tiny dino footprints

    Paleontologists in Bristol, England, at the annual meeting of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology report on fish fossils in Wyoming, the loss of Australia’s megafauna and the smallest dinosaur tracks.

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  6. Life

    Better sensing through empty receptors

    A new model suggests cells may be more sensitive to their environment than previously thought.

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  7. Paleontology

    Feather-covered dinosaur fossils found

    Scientists have uncovered a feather-laden, peacock-sized dinosaur that predates the oldest known bird.

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  8. Life

    Enter the Virosphere

    As evidence of the influence of viruses escalates, appreciation of these master manipulators grows.

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  9. Earth

    Protected whales found in Japan’s supermarkets

    Toothless Asian whales find themselves being protected by fairly toothless regulations.

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  10. Ecosystems

    Eels on the move

    Study tracks European eels for the first 1,300 kilometers of their migration.

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  11. Animals

    Spider men weave silken tapestry

    It took herculean effort, but Madagascar crafters created an extraordinary piece of woven art from spider silk.

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  12. Paleontology

    King of the ancient seas

    Paleontologists discover fossilized skeleton of bus-sized marine reptile that had teeth with serrated edges.

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