JNCC The Biology Project Before DNA, before RNA: Life in the hodge-podge world - life - 08 January 2012 Take note, DNA and RNA: it's not all about you. Life on Earth may have begun with a splash of TNA – a different kind of genetic material altogether. Because RNA can do many things at once, those studying the origins of life have long thought that it was the first genetic material. But the discovery that a chemical relative called TNA can perform one of RNA's defining functions calls this into question. Instead, the very first forms of life may have used a mix of genetic materials. Today, most life bar some viruses uses DNA to store information, and RNA to execute the instructions encoded by that DNA. A key piece of evidence for this "RNA world" hypothesis is that RNA is a jack of all trades. Now it seems TNA might have been just as capable, although it is not found in nature today. It differs from RNA and DNA in its sugar backbone: TNA uses threose where RNA uses ribose and DNA deoxyribose. The team took a library of TNAs and evolved them in the presence of a protein. No TNA world
Tree of Life Web Project The Tree of Life Web Project (ToL) is a collaborative effort of biologists and nature enthusiasts from around the world. On more than 10,000 World Wide Web pages, the project provides information about biodiversity, the characteristics of different groups of organisms, and their evolutionary history (phylogeny). Each page contains information about a particular group, e.g., salamanders, segmented worms, phlox flowers, tyrannosaurs, euglenids, Heliconius butterflies, club fungi, or the vampire squid. ToL pages are linked one to another hierarchically, in the form of the evolutionary tree of life. Starting with the root of all Life on Earth and moving out along diverging branches to individual species, the structure of the ToL project thus illustrates the genetic connections between all living things.
Interactives archive: Biology Anatomy of ChildbirthReview the three stages of having a baby as well as some of the risks women face. Anatomy of the CoelacanthThis survivor from the age of dinosaurs has body parts found in no other living creature. Anatomy of a CrocExamine a Nile crocodile and see what makes this amazing reptile tick. Anatomy of a HiveInvestigate the physical, behavioral, and social infrastructure inside a bees' nest. Anatomy of Photo 51When you know how to look at it, this shadowy X-ray photograph speaks volumes about the shape of DNA. Bacteria TalkIn this interview, Bassler describes the 600 species of bacteria on your teeth each morning, and much more. Brain GeographyLearn how to model a brain and find out more about the cerebellum, spinal cord, brain stem, and cerebral cortex. Build a SteroidFollow the steps a chemist takes to synthesize a disease-fighting drug. Classifying LifeWhat do a polar bear and a sea cucumber have in common? Coelacanth QuizDoes this fish lay eggs? Guess What's Coming to Dinner?
British scientists recreate the molecules that gave birth to life itself By Nick Enoch Updated: 08:03 GMT, 27 January 2012 Organic chemists at the University of York have recreated a pair of simple sugars - threose and erythrose - in a process which could have occurred before the advent of life Scientists are one step closer to understanding the origin of life after making a breakthrough into how sugar molecules found in DNA are created. Organic chemists at the University of York have recreated a pair of simple sugars - threose and erythrose - in a process which could have occurred before the advent of life. The team, led by Dr Paul Clarke, along with colleagues at the University of Nottingham, have made the first step towards showing how the basic building blocks of life developed. Every biological molecule has an ability to exist in a left-handed form or right-handed form. All sugars in biology are made up of the right-handed form of molecules and yet all the amino acids that make up the peptides and proteins are made up of the left-handed form.
UK BAP The UK Biodiversity Action Plan (UK BAP) was published back in 1994, and was the UK Government’s response to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), which the UK signed up to in 1992 in Rio de Janeiro. The UK was the first country to produce a national biodiversity action plan, and the UK BAP described the biological resources of the UK and provided detailed plans for conservation of these resources. Action plans for the most threatened species and habitats were set out to aid recovery, and national reports, produced every three- to five-years, showed how the UK BAP was contributing to the UK’s progress towards the significant reduction of biodiversity loss called for by the CBD. To support the work of the UK BAP, the UK BAP website was created by JNCC in 2001. 'Conserving Biodiversity – the UK Approach' (2007) The 'UK Post-2010 Biodiversity Framework' (July 2012) Following publication of the UK Biodiversity Framework, the UK BAP web-pages were further revised (in August 2012).
Comprehension strategies Dragonflies keeping their eyes on the prize | The Scicurious Brain One of the things I love most about science blogging is the opportunity to learn about entirely new things. Of course, we all have that opportunity on most days, but having to find something to blog about three times a week definitely keeps me on my toes. And what I learn can be so fascinating! And today, my fascination is with dragonflies. And my fascination with them grew even more as I read this paper. Gonzalez-Bellido et al. (Source) The authors recorded from the visual neurons of a large number of dragonflies as they were presented with prey moving across the visual field. These dragonflies have a set of neurons called small target movement detectors, which specifically detect the small and speedy movements of potential prey. They recorded from the motor neurons, and saw that prep movement very quickly activated the descending motor neurons, and that the activation was associated with the fast interception of the prey. *Kidding!
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