The Human Dynasty

A Swedish research group has discovered a new mechanism for cell division in a microorganism found in extremely hot and acidic conditions. The results of the research offer insights into evolution, but also into the functioning of the human body.

(Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research) A Swedish research group, partly financed by NWO, has discovered a new mechanism for cell division in a microorganism found in extremely hot and acidic conditions. The results of the research offer insights into evolution, but also into the functioning of the human body. The research has been recently published in PNAS, the magazine of the American National Academy of Sciences. Thijs Ettema, member of the research group, received a Rubicon grant from NWO in 2006 to gain experience abroad.

Bacteria can build a biofilm that preserves a tissue’s structure

An intriguing new theory of evolutionary biology says the reason sexual reproduction may be so successful is that it promotes genes that work well in combination with many other genes. This idea of genetic mixability hits on the difficulty evolutionary biologists have had in understanding sex, specifically its role in population genetics and natural selection.

New data on a prehistoric warm period allow for more accurate predictions of future climate and improved understanding of today’s warming. Past warm periods provide real data on climate change and are natural laboratories for understanding the global climate system. Scientists examined fossils from 3.3 to 3.0 million years ago, known as the mid-Pliocene warm period.

(Indiana University) Larry J. Zimmerman, Ph.D., an Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis professor of anthropology and museum studies at the School of Liberal Arts, and Jessica Welch, an IUPUI student and a formerly homeless woman, have completed a unique study of the material culture of the homeless. The researchers discovered that the problem of homelessness is broader and much more complex than previously thought.

(United States Geological Survey) New data on a prehistoric warm period allow for more accurate predictions of future climate and improved understanding of today’s warming. Past warm periods provide real data on climate change and are natural laboratories for understanding the global climate system. Scientists examined fossils from 3.3 to 3.0 million years ago, known as the mid-Pliocene warm period. Research was conducted by the Pliocene Research, Interpretation and Synoptic Mapping group, led by the US Geological Survey.

Worker ants of the world, unite! You have nothing to lose but your fertility. The highly specialized worker castes in ants represent the pinnacle of social organization in the insect world. As in any society, however, ant colonies are filled with internal strife and conflict. So what binds them together? More than 150 years ago, Charles Darwin had an idea and now he’s been proven right.

(McGill University) The highly specialized worker castes in ants represent the pinnacle of social organization in the insect world. As in any society, however, ant colonies are filled with internal strife and conflict. So what binds them together? More than 150 years ago, Charles Darwin had an idea and now he’s been proven right. Evolutionary biologists at McGill University have discovered molecular signals that can maintain social harmony in ants by putting constraints on their fertility.

Famous works of abstract art achieve popularity by using shapes that resonate with the neural mechanisms in the brain linked to visual information, a psychologist has discovered.