Alex Moore's answer to Evolutionary Biology: How might cell division have evolved.
Synthetic Biology. Michael Pawlyn: Using nature's genius in architecture. Snowflakes Up Close: A Small, Fragile World. If you’re one of those people who likes to ponder things while looking out a frosty window on a cold winter day, these pictures will clear up one of those long standing wonders: each snowflake really IS unique.
Some look like roman columns, others circuit boards or spaceships. Taken under high magnification using a microscope, these images bring a fragile and beautiful world into view. See Also HARMFUL VIRUSES MADE OF BEAUTIFUL GLASS They say that every snowflake is different. Source: akirathedon.com Known in some circles as the most amazing man in the universe, he once saved an entire family of muskrats from a sinking, fire engulfed steamboat while recovering from two broken arms relating to a botched no-chute wingsuit landing in North Korea.
Craig Venter on DNA and the sea. Frontal Cortex | Wired Science. Eco. Snow Foolin’: Completely Insane Pics of Japanese Snowfall. The winter of 2010-2011 brought an epic, historic amount of snow to the East coast of the United States. Many residents of the affected areas have never seen so much snow at one time, and many cities were completely unprepared to deal with the aftermath – despite having plenty of advance notice – as evidenced by the above image of New York City. But as bad as the East coasters have it, this snow is nothing compared to the mountains of powder Japan is buried beneath.
These unaltered photographs give an idea of the type of major snow accumulation in Honshu, Japan each winter. The pictures show the main road through the Japanese Alps which is closed all winter long due to the massive amounts of snow covering it. Every spring the road is uncovered by snowplows which are tasked with the incredible job of clearing an average of 56 feet of snow. (all images via: Gizmodo) The huge piles of snow would be daunting even to the most experienced cold climate dweller. Self-Cloning Seagrass May Be World's Oldest Living Thing | Environment. Australian and European scientists say they believe ancient seagrass growing on the floor of the Mediterranean Sea may be the oldest living organism on the planet.
The researchers say their findings indicate the vast beds of submerged vegetation are most likely at least 100,000 years old. That is nearly 60,000 years older than a Tasmanian plant that currently holds the title of world’s oldest living thing. The scientists say self-cloning and the ability to reproduce asexually are the keys to the incredible longevity of the giant Mediterranean seagrass, or Posidonia oceania, as the plant is scientifically known. While the study's overall findings suggest some of the seagrass could be up to 200,000 years old, the researchers say they do not consider it likely because areas where they collected samples were dry land only 10,000 years ago when the sea level was 100 meters lower than it is today. The study was led by the University of Western Australia’s Ocean’s Institute.