Atoms and the Miracle of Life
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‘Marine’ Fossils May Instead Represent Early Land Dwellers
The fossils of various frondlike and sacklike organisms that supposedly lived at the bottom of ancient oceans may actually represent some of the earliest organisms to dwell on land. That’s the controversial interpretation of a new study, which suggests that rocks long thought to have been formed from sediments deposited on ancient seafloors may actually…
U.K. Farmers Adapt to Climate Change
Farmers, used to betting on the weather, are changing their tactics to cope with changes in the rules of the game
Big History: Engaging the New Narrative of Science
ByEditorWe need to humbly put questions about the universe and the universal back at the heart of education, including and especially religious education.
Changing View on Viruses: Not So Small After All
There was a time not that long ago when it was easy to tell the difference between viruses and the rest of life. Most obviously, viruses were tiny and genetically simple. The influenza virus, for example, measures about 100 nanometers across, and has just 13 genes. Those two standards, it’s now clear, belong in the…
Study of Giant Viruses Shakes Up Tree of Life
A new study of giant viruses supports the idea that viruses are ancient living organisms and not inanimate molecular remnants run amok, as some scientists have argued. The study reshapes the universal family tree, adding a fourth major branch to the three that most scientists agree represent the fundamental domains of life. The new findings…
The Hazy History of Air on Saturn’s Moon Titan
“Titan provides an extraordinary environment to better understand some of the chemical processes that led to the appearance of life on Earth,” said Josep M. Trigo-Rodriguez, of the Institute of Space Sciences in Barcelona, Spain. “Titan’s atmosphere is a natural laboratory that, in many aspects, seems to have a strong similitude with our current picture…