Hacker News with Generative AI: Biology

Atlas of cells transforms understanding of human body (bbc.co.uk)
An ambitious plan to map all 37 trillion cells in the human body is transforming understanding of how our bodies work, scientists report.

Biology, Science, Human Body, Research

10 points by JohnHammersley 12 hours ago | 0 comments

All Life on Earth Today Descended from a Single Cell. Meet LUCA (quantamagazine.org)
The clearest picture yet of our “last universal common ancestor” suggests it was a relatively complex organism living 4.2 billion years ago, a time long considered too harsh for life to flourish.

Evolution, Biology, Science

23 points by EA-3167 14 hours ago | 0 comments

Cells have more mini 'organs' than researchers thought (theconversation.com)
Cells have more mini ‘organs’ than researchers thought − unbound by membranes, these rogue organelles challenge biology’s fundamentals

Biology, Science, Cellular Biology, Research

10 points by PaulHoule 16 hours ago | 6 comments

Fat cells have 'memory' of obesity – hinting at why it's hard to keep weight off (nature.com)
Even after drastic weight loss, the body’s fat cells carry the ‘memory’ of obesity, research1 shows — a finding that might help to explain why it can be hard to stay trim after a weight-loss programme.

Obesity, Biology, Health, Weight Loss

12 points by bookofjoe 1 day ago | 0 comments

Fat cells have a 'memory' of obesity – why it's hard to keep weight off (nature.com)
Even after drastic weight loss, the body’s fat cells carry the ‘memory’ of obesity, research1 shows — a finding that might help to explain why it can be hard to stay trim after a weight-loss programme.

Obesity, Health, Science, Biology

11 points by Brajeshwar 2 days ago | 0 comments

Pioneer Species (wikipedia.org)
Pioneer species are resilient species that are the first to colonize barren environments, or to repopulate disrupted biodiverse steady-state ecosystems as part of ecological succession.

Ecology, Biology, Environmental Science, Succession, Resilience

19 points by skibz 4 days ago | 1 comments

A Crashed Israeli Lunar Lander Spilled Tardigrades on the Moon(2019) (wired.com)
The Beresheet lunar lander carried thousands of books, DNA samples, and a few thousand water bears to the moon. But did any of it survive the crash?

Space Exploration, Biology, Tardigrades, Lunar Landings

32 points by amar-laksh 4 days ago | 23 comments

2001 Anthrax Attacks (wikipedia.org)
The 2001 anthrax attacks, also known as Amerithrax (a portmanteau of "America" and "anthrax", from its FBI case name),[1] occurred in the United States over the course of several weeks beginning on September 18, 2001, one week after the September 11 terrorist attacks.

Terrorism, History, Biology, United States

5 points by sandwichsphinx 4 days ago | 0 comments

Chemist Identifies Mystery 'Blobs' Washing Up in Newfoundland (nytimes.com)
A chemist in Canada says he has identified “with a high degree of confidence” the strange blobs that started washing up on Newfoundland’s shores months ago, although the Canadian authorities said they were still looking into it.

Chemistry, Biology, Canada, Mystery, Environment

73 points by mykowebhn 6 days ago | 28 comments

Biological Miracle – Wood Frog (nps.gov)
The most remarkable thing about wood frogs happens not in the summer when they transform from tadpoles to frogs, but in the winter when they hibernate.

Biology, Animals, Amphibians

500 points by thunderbong 6 days ago | 139 comments

Scientists Film 'Giant' Mimivirus in Action (tus.ac.jp)
For the first time, we can see footage of a 'giant' virus as it infects a cell

Science, Viruses, Biology, Microscopy

4 points by geox 7 days ago | 0 comments

Exercise Spurs Nerve Growth Through Biochemical and Physical Impact (neurosciencenews.com)
MIT engineers have found that exercise can also have benefits at the level of individual neurons.

Exercise, Neuroscience, Health, Biology, Neuroplasticity

6 points by bookofjoe 7 days ago | 0 comments

A new virus-like entity has just been discovered. 'Obelisks' explained (theconversation.com)
Biological entities called obelisks have been hiding – in large numbers – inside the human mouth and gut.

Biology, Science, Viruses

5 points by melenaboija 7 days ago | 0 comments

Japanese Raccoon Dog (wikipedia.org)
The Japanese raccoon dog (Nyctereutes viverrinus),[1] also known by its Japanese name tanuki (Japanese: 狸, タヌキ),[2] is a species of canid endemic to Japan.

Animals, Japan, Biology

3 points by kblissett 8 days ago | 0 comments

When muscles work out, they help neurons to grow, a new study shows (news.mit.edu)
There’s no doubt that exercise does a body good. Regular activity not only strengthens muscles but can bolster our bones, blood vessels, and immune system.

Neuroscience, Exercise, Health, Biology

231 points by giuliomagnifico 9 days ago | 97 comments

A New Kind of Mitochondria (nature.com)

Science, Biology, Mitochondria

26 points by coloneltcb 9 days ago | 12 comments

Incorporation of photosynthetically active algal chloroplasts in mammalian cells (jst.go.jp)
Chloroplasts are photosynthetic organelles that evolved through the endosymbiosis between cyanobacteria-like symbionts and hosts.

Science, Biology, Genetics, Biotechnology

43 points by PaulHoule 10 days ago | 35 comments

AI protein-prediction tool AlphaFold3 is now open source (nature.com)
AlphaFold3 is open at last. Six months after Google DeepMind controversially withheld code from a paper describing the protein-structure prediction model, scientists can now download the software code and use the artificial intelligence (AI) tool for non-commercial applications, the London-based company announced on 11 November.

Artificial Intelligence, Biology, Open Source, Software, Science

73 points by pseudolus 10 days ago | 2 comments

How gophers brought Mount St. Helens back to life in one day (phys.org)
When Mount St. Helens erupted in 1980, lava incinerated anything living for miles around. As an experiment, scientists later dropped gophers onto parts of the scorched mountain for only 24 hours. The benefits from that single day were undeniable—and still visible 40 years later.

Science, Biology, Ecology, Environmental Science

96 points by pseudolus 10 days ago | 55 comments

Extension of the human lifespan, science fiction or reality? (peterattiamd.com)
Humanity may be reaching the limits of lifespan extension that are possible through treatment of chronic disease, but the door is still open for future advances in aging biology itself

Lifespan Extension, Science, Aging, Biology

5 points by nradov 11 days ago | 0 comments

Memories are not only in the brain, human cell study finds (medicalxpress.com)
It's common knowledge that our brains—and, specifically, our brain cells—store memories. But a team of scientists has discovered that cells from other parts of the body also perform a memory function, opening new pathways for understanding how memory works and creating the potential to enhance learning and to treat memory-related afflictions.

Science, Memory, Biology, Neuroscience

244 points by vivekd 12 days ago | 115 comments

Age-Normalized Testosterone Peaks at Series B for Male Startup Founders (twitter.com)

Startup Funding, Startups, Gender, Biology, Venture Capital

7 points by Mdubrov 12 days ago | 0 comments

Why langurs drink salt water (idw-online.de)
Endangered Cat Ba langurs defy poor environmental conditions and show remarkable adaptation

Wildlife, Biology, Adaptation, Endangered Species

17 points by gmays 13 days ago | 28 comments

Mitochondria Are Alive (asimov.press)
The cells within our body are the remnants of an ancient alliance.

Biology, Science, Evolution

638 points by mailyk 13 days ago | 389 comments

Chernobyl frogs exposed to radiation show no signs of stress or increased ageing (phys.org)
The radiation levels experienced by the frogs living in Chernobyl have not affected their age or their rate of aging. These two traits do not differ, in fact, between specimens captured in areas with high levels of radiation and those living in control areas without radiation. Nor have differences been found in the levels of corticosterone, a hormone associated with the response to stress, depending on the radiation received by these amphibians.

Chernobyl, Radiation, Biology, Science, Amphibians

6 points by passwordoops 13 days ago | 1 comments

Railroad Ecology (wikipedia.org)
Railroad ecology or railway ecology is a term used to refer to the study of the ecological community growing along railroad or railway tracks and the effects of railroads on natural ecosystems.

Ecology, Biology, Transportation, Environmental Science

8 points by downboots 13 days ago | 1 comments

The egg or the chicken? An ancient unicellular says egg (unige.ch)
A cell division resembling that of an animal embryo has been observed in a prehistoric unicellular organism, suggesting that embryonic development might have existed prior to the evolution of animals.

Evolution, Biology, Science, Cellular Biology

71 points by giuliomagnifico 14 days ago | 84 comments

Scientists can tweak one gene to extend lifespans by up to 30% (bgr.com)
Researchers have identified a particular cellular protein that affects aging. They’ve also managed to tweak this gene to produce it in fruit flies, extending their lives by up to 30 percent. The hope is that this discovery could further efforts to slow human aging and extend our lifespans.

Aging, Genetics, Longevity, Biology, Science

7 points by aard 14 days ago | 2 comments

Study shows bats have acoustic cognitive maps (phys.org)
Echolocating bats have been found to possess an acoustic cognitive map of their home range, enabling them to navigate over kilometer-scale distances using echolocation alone.

Science, Animals, Biology, Navigation, Cognition

75 points by wglb 15 days ago | 22 comments

Honeybee gene specifies collective behavior, research shows (phys.org)
Researchers at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU) are collaborating with colleagues from Frankfurt/Main, Oxford and Würzburg to investigate how the complex, cooperative behavior of honeybees (Apis mellifera) is genetically programmed so that it can be passed on to subsequent generations.

Genetics, Biology, Honeybees, Research, Collective Behavior

52 points by wglb 15 days ago | 13 comments