Why eukaryotes, not bacteria, evolved complex multicellularity

Prokaryotic single-celled organisms, the ancestors of modern-day bacteria and archaea, are the most ancient form of life on our planet, first appearing roughly 3.5 billion years ago. The first eukaryotic cells appeared around ...

Marsupial embryo jumps ahead in development

(PhysOrg.com) -- Long a staple of nature documentaries, the somewhat bizarre development of a grub-like pink marsupial embryo outside the mother's womb is curious in another way.

To treat or to tolerate pathogens, that is the question

Why do some people seem to never get sick while others consistently fall prey to viruses and bacteria? How can the spouse of a sick person avoid catching their partner's bug despite sleeping next to them every night? Questions ...

A molecular glue for turning on human cell pluripotency

There are cells in the body known as pluripotent stem cells that are yet to specialize in a particular biological function. These cells maintain the potential to become any of the possible cell types in an organism. Pluripotent ...

Smallest, fastest-known RNA switches provide new drug targets

(Phys.org)—A University of Michigan biophysical chemist and his colleagues have discovered the smallest and fastest-known molecular switches made of RNA, the chemical cousin of DNA. The researchers say these rare, fleeting ...

Men can rest easy -- sex chromosomes are here to stay

Fears that sex-linked chromosomes, such as the male Y chromosome, are doomed to extinction have been refuted in a new genetic study which examines the sex chromosomes of chickens.

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