News tagged with life cycles

'Animal embryo' fossils are actually microbes (Update)

Tiny fossils that scientists have thought for decades were the embryos of the earliest animals ever found have turned out to be the remains of much simpler microbial organisms.

Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils

created Dec 22, 2011 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (11) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Ocean census uncovers 'new world' of marine microbe life

An ocean census has revealed a "new world" of richly diverse marine microbe life that could help scientists understand more about key environmental processes on Earth, a study said Sunday.

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Apr 18, 2010 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (9) | comments 1

Microbial life on Mars: Could saltwater make it possible?

(PhysOrg.com) -- How common are droplets of saltwater on Mars? Could microbial life survive and reproduce in them? A new million-dollar NASA project led by the University of Michigan aims to answer those questions.

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Aug 17, 2011 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (9) | comments 16 | with audio podcast

Living in the galactic danger zone

We know for certain that life exists in the Milky Way galaxy: that life is us. Scientists are continually looking to understand more about how life on our planet came to be and the conditions that must be ...

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Sep 23, 2011 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (8) | comments 12 | with audio podcast

Circadian cycle even more important to life than previously suspected: study

Researchers at USC were surprised recently to discover just how much the rising and setting of the sun drives life on Earth – even in unexpected places.

Biology / Other

created Sep 12, 2011 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (8) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Plants Save the Earth from an Icy Doom (w/ Podcast)

(PhysOrg.com) -- Fifty million years ago, the North and South Poles were ice-free and crocodiles roamed the Arctic. Since then, a long-term decrease in the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere has cooled the Earth. ...

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Jul 01, 2009 | popularity 3.8 / 5 (9) | comments 5

Study suggests theory for insect colonies as 'superorganisms'

New A team of researchers including scientists from the University of Florida has shown insect colonies follow some of the same biological "rules" as individuals, a finding that suggests insect societies operate like a single ...

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Jan 19, 2010 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (7) | comments 4 | with audio podcast

Uninhabited water: Where no microbe has gone before

(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA's 'follow the water' strategy to find life on other planets might need rethinking, according to Australian National University research describing the amount of water on Earth that doesn't ...

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created May 13, 2010 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (7) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Walk in the park yields biological treasure

A newly identified relationship between a fly and a weedy mustard-type plant promises to answer many long-standing questions surrounding the evolutionary arms race between plant-eating insects and their host ...

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Nov 19, 2010 | popularity 5 / 5 (5) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

38 percent of world's surface in danger of desertification

A team of Spanish researchers has measured the degradation of the planet's soil using the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), a scientific methodology that analyses the environmental impact of human activities, and ...

Space & Earth / Environment

created Feb 09, 2010 | popularity 2.8 / 5 (8) | comments 15

New battery could lead to cheaper, more efficient solar energy

A joint research project between the University of Southampton and lithium battery technology company REAPsystems has found that a new type of battery has the potential to improve the efficiency and reduce the cost of solar ...

Technology / Energy & Green Tech

created Feb 09, 2012 | popularity 4.2 / 5 (5) | comments 2

Biography of a star

Nuclear fusion is a virtually inexhaustible source of energy, and for decades now scientists have been working on exploiting it. A process that continues to present difficulties in laboratories on Earth has ...

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Nov 03, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 4

Why spring is blooming marvelous (and climate change makes it earlier)

With buds bursting early, only for a mild winter to turn Arctic and wipe them out, we are witnessing how warm weather can trigger flowering, even out of season, and how important it is for plants to blossom at the right time ...

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Mar 21, 2012 | popularity 3.3 / 5 (6) | comments 6

Global study of salmon shows: 'Sustainable' food isn't so sustainable

Popular thinking about how to improve food systems for the better often misses the point, according to the results of a three-year global study of salmon production systems. Rather than pushing for organic or land-based ...

Space & Earth / Environment

created Nov 24, 2009 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (4) | comments 1

Wood products part of winning carbon-emissions equation, researchers say

Trees absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to grow, so forests have long been proposed as a way to offset climate change.

Space & Earth / Environment

created Jul 14, 2011 | popularity 4 / 5 (4) | comments 6 | with audio podcast