Wednesday, 8 February, 2012

Darwin thought life had to predate the Cambrian era, and yet there was no evidence. In 1953, a Wisconsin geologist saw fossils aged almost 2 billion years. Now, life has been discovered in rocks from 3.5 billion years. What was life like, and how do we recognize it?

In many environments, ants know the tricks of survival, even domination. Skeptical? Ask the fire ant. Ask the army ant. A series of studies is revealing the genetic basis for survival and domination. What genes are active, and which have disappeared after prolonged unemployment?

People with a genetic case of dwarfism in Ecuador don’t get cancer or diabetes, and a new study links that benefit to the genetic changes we see when calories are severely restricted. Could blocking growth hormone in adulthood lead to serious health benefits?

Found: The smallest farmers in the world! If you’re hungry, and moving to a land without food, the smart money says, “Take some seeds.” And that’s exactly what a common soil amoeba does: It totes along bacteria so it can eat them in its new home.

The BP spill released about 160,000 tons of methane into the Gulf of Mexico, but a new study shows that it was eaten by friendly bacteria. The seabed contains an astonishing amount of methane, a strong greenhouse gas. So can bacteria reduce the global warming hazard of massive methane releases?

Three gross “biotherapies” are gaining medical attention, and two already have FDA approval as “medical devices” (?) ! Leeches can suck excess blood after surgery, and maggots remove dead tissue and kill bacteria in hard-to-heal wounds. Parasitic worms might fight ulcerative colitis — a widespread bowel disease. Maybe.

All life requires oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, carbon, hydrogen and phosphorus. Until now. Bacteria in a toxic California lake that have replaced phosphorus with arsenic are quite healthy, thank you very much. Tune in for our scientific remake of the boffo comedy: “Arsenic in Old Lake!”

Ethanol in gasoline now comes mainly from corn, a food crop. Cellulose, found in crop wastes, wood and switchgrass, could be a great source of ethanol, if only the yeast that makes ethanol could digest cellulose. A new genetic alteration forced yeast to break down cellulose, and then convert it into ethanol.

Imagine a transistor so tiny that it can slip inside a living cell to measure electrical potential. Now coat that transistor so the cell will pull it inside without damage. Then adapt the transistor to measure RNA and proteins. Nanofabrication tricks convert science fiction into science fact!

Many of the tastiest crops can’t pollinate themselves: melons, cucumbers, strawberries, almonds, cacao. But pollinators — both native and managed — are under threat from diseases and pesticides. They aren’t finding enough to eat. Their colonies are dying. What can we do?