When life on Earth first emerged about 4 billion years ago, it was simple by today's standards.

Chemistry - Biochemistry

Oct 22, 2010 4.8 / 5 (47) 82 |

(Phys.org) —A combined team of researchers from Spain and Australia has discovered what they claim is the first known instance of a biomaterial that can kill bacteria on contact based only its physical ...

Nanotechnology - Nanophysics

Mar 06, 2013 4.9 / 5 (36) 11 |

(Phys.org) —Excess carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere created by the widespread burning of fossil fuels is the major driving force of global climate change, and researchers the world over are looking ...

Technology - Energy & Green Tech

Mar 26, 2013 4.1 / 5 (38) 26 |

(PhysOrg.com) -- Panspermia is a mechanism for spreading organic material throughout the galaxy, but the destructive effects of cosmic rays and ultraviolet light tend to mean most organisms would be destroyed ...

Space & Earth - Space Exploration

Nov 12, 2010 3.8 / 5 (32) 47 |

(PhysOrg.com) -- A new hypothesis posed by a University of Tennessee, Knoxville, associate professor and colleagues could be a game changer in the evolution arena. The hypothesis suggests some species are ...

Biology - Evolution

Apr 04, 2012 4.2 / 5 (22) 15 |

(Phys.org) -- Moqui marbles, unusual balls of rock that can be found rolling around the southwestern U.S. sandstone regions, were formed roughly 2 million years ago with the help of microorganisms. This discovery ...

Space & Earth - Earth Sciences

Aug 16, 2012 5 / 5 (14) 0 |

(Phys.org)—Palaeobiologists from the University of Kansas studying samples taken from the mountains of Antarctica have found a ciliate fossil embedded in the wall of a fossilized leech cocoon which was ...

Other Sciences - Archaeology & Fossils

Dec 04, 2012 4.6 / 5 (11) 8 |

A team of scientists from across the globe have found that gut bacteria may influence mammalian brain development and adult behavior. The study is published in the scientific journal PNAS, and is the result of an ongoing collab ...

Medicine & Health - Medical research

Feb 01, 2011 4.5 / 5 (11) 3 |

A study published today in the journal Nature reports that a viral predator of the cholera bacteria has stolen the functional immune system of bacteria and is using it against its bacterial host. The study provides the fi ...

Biology - Cell & Microbiology

Feb 27, 2013 4.8 / 5 (10) 5 |

(PhysOrg.com) -- A team of Purdue University researchers has invented a prototype water-disinfection system that could help the world's 800 million people who lack safe drinking water.

Space & Earth - Environment

Sep 29, 2011 4.3 / 5 (11) 10 |

Philips Lighting has today announced the launch of a new, complete and innovative water disinfection solution, Philips InstantTrust. This solution is based on cutting-edge disinfection technology optimized ...

Technology - Engineering

Nov 03, 2011 3.8 / 5 (12) 7

Two metres below the surface of the Atacama Desert there is an 'oasis' of microorganisms. Researchers from the Center of Astrobiology (Spain) and the Catholic University of the North in Chile have found it ...

Space & Earth - Earth Sciences

Feb 16, 2012 5 / 5 (9) 4 |

Companies that make commercial solar cells are happy if they can achieve 20 percent efficiency when converting sunlight to electricity; an improvement of even 1 percent is seen as major progress. But nature, ...

Nanotechnology - Nanomaterials

Jul 09, 2012 5 / 5 (9) 0 |

With DNA from just four cells, researchers reveal how some of the world's most abundant organisms play a key role in carbon cycling in the seabed.

Biology - Cell & Microbiology

Mar 27, 2013 4.9 / 5 (9) 0 |

Many kinds of algae and cyanobacteria, common water-dwelling microorganisms, are capable of using energy from sunlight to split water molecules and release hydrogen, which holds promise as a clean and carbon-free ...

Biology - Cell & Microbiology

May 24, 2011 4.3 / 5 (10) 6 |