Short RNAs Show A Long History: MicroRNAs Found In Animals That Appeared A Billion Years Ago Oct 3, 2008
30, 2007) Scientists discover microRNAs in the unicellular green alga, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. This is the first finding of microRNAs in a unicellular. (Science Daily)
NCT: Letters, Aug. 20, 2008 Aug 21, 2008
"That was my point! You're slow, but it does eventually start to sink in!Everyone agrees that sperms and eggs are not human persons, but they are undeniably human life.So the issue is not "when does LIFE begin," but since we all agree that becoming a human PERSON is different from being a human life, the question is when does human life become a human PERSON.And I LOVED "former con" at 1:13 p.m., noting that if human life begins at fertilization, when does one from a pair of identical twins... (North County Times)
Planetary discoveries fuel hopes of astronomers and alien-life seekers Jun 26, 2008
After all, they said, life arose here relatively quickly, maybe 800 million years after Earth's condensational birth - and then stayed unicellular for the next three billion-plus years. Astronomers have high hopes for the Kepler spacecraft to be launched in February. (International Herald Tribune)
A New Target To Fight Sleeping Sickness May 21, 2008
The disease, which is always fatal in the absence of treatment, is caused by a unicellular parasite called Trypanosoma, which is transmitted by the bite of the tsetse fly. Existing treatment is expensive, toxic and difficult to administer in the field. (Science Daily)
Architecture For Fundamental Processes Of Life May 14, 2008
"Our team systematically analyzed the interactions of proteins of bakers yeast, a unicellular organism confirmed to provide insight into fundamental processes shared by most living cells including those of humans," explained Prof. Michnick. (Science Daily)
Cell biology: The cellular hullabaloo May 8, 2008
They are, after all, far more complicated organisms than the unicellular types under his microscope. In very simple cells we have shown for sure that a single stochastic event can lead to different phenotypes, Xie says. (Nature News Service)
Microbiological advances point away from Darwin Mar 20, 2008
e. chemicals non-living, to unicellular, to multicellulal etc ... The theory stated that today we see no transitional stages of this "quantum leap" evolution I mentioned (because of the slower pace present today), but it was emphatically stated that the fossil record would one day provide evidence for this "quantum leap" evolution necessary to arrive at today's plethora of complex organisms from unicellular species. (Longview Daily News, WA)
Genome Of Marine Organism Tells Of Humans' Unicellular Ancestors Feb 20, 2008
"Choanoflagellates are the closest living unicellular relatives of animals and, as such, can help us learn about our history and the history of life on Earth, which has been dominated by one-celled organisms," said King, an assistant professor of integrative biology and of molecular and cell biology, and a 2005 MacArthur "genius" Award winner. "They help shed light on the biology and genome content of the unicellular organisms from which we evolved." ... "Choanoflagellates really are a unique... (Science Daily)
Cellular memory hints at the origins of intelligence Jan 24, 2008
Learning and memory abilities associated with a brain or, at the very least, neuronal activity have been observed in protoplasmic slime, a unicellular organism with multiple nuclei. When the amoeba Physarum polycephalum is subjected to a series of shocks at regular intervals, it learns the pattern and changes its behaviour in anticipation of the next one to come, according to a team of researchers in Japan. (Nature News Service)
In diatom, scientists find genes that may level engineering hurdle Jan 22, 2008
MADISON Denizens of oceans, lakes and even wet soil, diatoms are unicellular algae that encase themselves in intricately patterned, glass-like shells. Curiously, these tiny phytoplankton could be harboring the next big breakthrough in computer chips. (EurekAlert!)
New Peptide Communication Factor Enabling Bacteria To 'Talk To Each Other' Discovered Nov 2, 2007
Bacteria are traditionally considered unicellular organisms. However, increasing experimental evidence indicates that bacteria seldom behave as isolated organisms. (Science Daily)
'Chlamy' genome holds clues for renewable energy, the environment and human health Oct 13, 2007
The genome also provides a glimpse back through time to when all plants and animals were unicellular and used flagella to swim. When they became multicellular, plants put down roots and lost their flagella while animals retained flagella on certain kinds of cells, including sperm and cilia on some cells in the lungs, kidneys and eyes. (EurekAlert!)
Immunity In Social Amoeba Suggests Ancient Beginnings Aug 9, 2007
The other is to look at unicellular organisms to determine if they have this same kind of immune signaling pathway. "If none of the early diverging organisms that never became multicellular developed this kind of signaling system, it would subtly strengthen our argument," he said. (Science Daily)
is coming to the US. The only detail is how much the rich and neocons are going to whine about it before it gets here. More... Jul 6, 2007
If you truly believe that life came from non-life billions of years ago with lightning striking primordial soup to form the first unicellular organism that eventually evolved over billions of years into the variety of life forms you see today, forming the male and counterpart female of the various species, and through chance and circumstance organisms became more and more complex and produced humanity that is capable of destroying all of life 50 times over in a nuclear war, then I'd like to talk... (North County Times)
Sigma gains rights to DNA modification technologies Jun 13, 2007
Epigenetics is used to refer to features of unicellular and multicellular organisms -- chromatin and DNA modifications -- that are stable over rounds of cell division but do not involve changes in the underlying DNA sequence of the organism. "Sigma-Aldrich has identified epigenetics as a growing area of interest and research for heritable diseases such as cancer, Alzheimer's and many others," Keith Jolliff, director of genomics and functional genomics at Sigma-Aldrich, said in a statement. (St. Louis Business Journal, MO)
Cold Climate Produced By Algae Contributed To Onset Of Multicellular Life Feb 16, 2007
This enabled diffusive breathing of primitive multicellulars which were larger than their unicellular counterparts ... This in turn increased the atmospheric carbon dioxide level and ended the severe glaciations and the reign of unicellular algae, initiating the development of a modern-type climate ... For unicellular organisms the respiratory surface is simply. (Science Daily)
Longevity By A Nose -- Or Odorant Receptor Feb 6, 2007
The heady odor of yeast paste partially counteracts the life-lengthening effects of nutrient restriction on fruit flies -- leading Baylor College of Medicine researchers to believe that the fly's perception that there is still food around may trigger a different metabolic state than one that exists when nutrients are limited. In a report that appears online today in the journal Science Express, Dr. Scott Pletcher, assistant professor in the Huffington Center on Aging and Department of Human and... (Science Daily)
Supercomputer Provides Super Tool For Simulation Of Cell Division Feb 3, 2007
Virginia Tech researchers in computer science and biology have used the university's supercomputer, System X, to create models and algorithms that make it possible to simulate the cell cycle -- the processes leading to cell division. They have demonstrated that the new mathematical models and numerical algorithms provide powerful tools for studying the complex processes going on inside living cells. (Science Daily)
Organization Halts Clinical Trial For Potential Microbicide For Preventing HIV Infection Feb 3, 2007
Family Health International (FHI) announced that it has halted a Phase III clinical trial of cellulose sulfate a potential microbicide being tested for HIV prevention in women in Nigeria. Simultaneously, CONRAD, a health research organization based in Arlington, Virginia, has announced it is halting its Phase III clinical trial of cellulose sulfate at sites in Benin, India, South Africa, and Uganda. (Science Daily)
Stealth Technology Maintains Fitness After Sex: How 'DNA Parasites' Can Increase Spread Of Antibiotic Resistance Jan 16, 2007
Pathogens can become superbugs without their even knowing it, research published today in Science shows. Stealth' plasmids - circular 'DNA parasites' of bacteria that can carry antibiotic-resistance genes - produce a protein that increases the chances of survival and spread of the antibiotic-resistant strain. (Science Daily)
Ocean Nitrogen Fixation: New Findings Blow A Decade Of Assumptions Out Of The Water Jan 12, 2007
(August 26, 2004) -- Large, nutrient-poor expanses of the open ocean are getting a substantial nitrogen influx from an abundant group of unicellular organisms that "fix," or chemically alter, nitrogen into a form usable. . (Science Daily)
Genetic Variation May Reduce Alzheimer's Risk Jan 10, 2007
Adults with a genetic variation enabling them to express higher levels of fetal hemoglobin may have a reduced risk of Alzheimer's disease, researchers say. Dr. William D. Hill, neuroscientist at the Medical College of Georgia and Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Augusta. (Science Daily)
Did We 'Kill' Martian Microbes? New Analysis Of Viking Mission Points To Life On Mars Jan 9, 2007
Microorganisms are often illustrated using single-celled, or unicellular organisms ... -- Prokaryotes are organisms without a cell nucleus, or indeed any other membrane-bound organelles, in most cases unicellular (in rare cases, multicellular) ... For unicellular organisms the respiratory surface is simply. (Science Daily)
