Origin of Life – Page 3 – PossibleThreat Articles

Survival strategy found in living corals which was only seen in fossil records

October 15, 2019 0 Comments Early Climate, Ecology Research, Evolution, Fish, Fossils, Marine Biology, Origin of Life, Sea Life

Some corals can recover after massive mortality episodes caused by the water temperature rise. This survival mechanism in the marine environment — known as rejuvenation — had only been described in some fossil corals so far. A new study reveals the first scientific evidence of the rejuvenation phenomenon in vivo in Cladocora caespitosa coral colonies, in the marine reserve in Columbrets, in the coast of Castellón.

News Science

Reading the past like an open book: Researchers use text to measure 200 years of happiness

October 14, 2019 0 Comments Disaster Plan, Early Climate, Fossils, Language Acquisition, Literacy, Ocean Policy, Origin of Life, Social Psychology, Travel and Recreation

Using innovative new methods researchers have built a new index that uses data from books and newspaper to track levels of national happiness from 1820. Their research could help governments to make better decisions about policy priorities.

News Science

Fast-acting German insecticide lost in the aftermath of WWII

October 11, 2019 0 Comments Anthropology, Chemistry, Civil Engineering, Environmental Issues, Fossils, Geochemistry, Inorganic Chemistry, Origin of Life, Pollution

A new study explores the chemistry as well as the complicated and alarming history of DFDT, a fast-acting insecticide.

News Science

Private property, not productivity, precipitated Neolithic agricultural revolution

October 11, 2019 0 Comments Ancient Civilizations, Anthropology, Cultures, Evolution, Fossils, Human Evolution, Lost Treasures, Origin of Life

The Neolithic Agricultural Revolution is one of the most thoroughly-studied episodes in prehistory. But a new article shows that most explanations for it don't agree with the evidence, and offers a new interpretation.

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Archaeology: Social inequality in Bronze Age households

October 10, 2019 0 Comments Ancient Civilizations, Anthropology, Archaeology, Cultures, Early Climate, Fossils, Human Evolution, Origin of Life

Archaeogenetic analyses provide new insights into social inequality 4,000 years ago: nuclear families lived together with foreign women and individuals from lower social classes in the same household.

News Science

Chemical evolution — One-pot wonder

October 9, 2019 0 Comments Biochemistry Research, Charles Darwin, Earth Science, Environmental Issues, Evolution, Evolutionary Biology, Geology, Nature, Origin of Life

Before life, there was RNA: Scientists show how the four different letters of this genetic alphabet could be created from simple precursor molecules on early Earth — under the same environmental conditions.

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DNA study sheds new light on the people of the Neolithic battle axe culture

October 9, 2019 0 Comments Ancient Civilizations, Arts and Culture, Cultures, Elder Care, Genes, Healthy Aging, Media and Entertainment, Origin of Life, Popular Culture

Scientists have combined archaeological, genetic and stable isotope data to understand the demographic processes associated with the iconic Battle Axe Culture and its introduction in Scandinavia.

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Scientists identify molecule that could have helped cells thrive on early Earth

October 8, 2019 0 Comments Biology, Charles Darwin, Evolution, Evolutionary Biology, Genetics, Human Evolution, Molecular Biology, Origin of Life

A new study offers an explanation for how ''protocells'' could have emerged on early Earth, eventually leading to the cells we know today. The work suggests that molecules called cyclophospholipids may have been the ingredient necessary for protocells to form important internal structures called vesicles, which likely kicked off the evolutionary process.

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Meet the 'mold pigs,' a new group of invertebrates from 30 million years ago

October 8, 2019 0 Comments Ancient DNA, animals, Evolution, Fossils, Fungus, New Species, Origin of Life, Zoology

Fossils preserved in Dominican amber reveal a new family, genus and species of microinvertebrate from the mid-Tertiary period, a discovery that shows unique lineages of the tiny creatures were living 30 million years ago.

News Science

Early humans evolved in ecosystems unlike any found today

October 8, 2019 0 Comments Early Mammals, Ecology, Ecosystems, Fossils, Human Biology, Nutrition, Origin of Life, Pregnancy and Childbirth, Rainforests

To understand the environmental pressures that shaped human evolution, scientists must reconstruct the ecosystems in which they lived. Because putting together the puzzle of millions-of-years-old ecosystems is a difficult task, many studies draw analogies with present-day African ecosystems, such as the Serengeti. A new study calls into question such approaches and suggests that the vast majority of human evolution occurred in ecosystems unlike any found today.