The Daily Galaxy: Great Discoveries Channel

"Origins of Life in a Lab": From Amino Acids to Apes with iPods

For over fifty years we've been figuring out life's starting point, finding how a planet-sized chemical tank turned into tigers, sharks and expressways (but not at the same place, at least until we get Michael Bay to accept our screenplay.)  It all started in 1953, when one man made primordial soup in a jar - and we've been improving on the recipe ever since.

"The DNA Code" - New Research Shows Life Hardwired in the Universe

A recent mathematical analysis says that life as we know it is written into the laws of reality.  DNA is built from a set of twenty amino acids - the first ten of those can create simple prebiotic life, and now it seems that those ten are thermodynamically destined to occur wherever they can.

For those unfamiliar with thermodynamics, it's the Big Brother of all energy equations and science itself.  You can apply quantum mechanics at certain scales, and Newtonian mechanics work at the right speeds, but if Thermodynamics says something then everyone listens. An energy analysis by Professors Pudritz and Higgs of McMaster University shows that the first ten amino acids are likely to form at relatively low temperatures and pressures, and the calculated odds of formation match the concentrations of these life-chemicals found in meteorite samples.

"Living-Dead" Extremeophiles: Discovered Thriving Sub-Ocean on Different Metabolic & Genetic Plane

Ancient microbes beneath the sea floor influence the Earth's long-term carbon cycle. Distinct from life on the Earth's surface, these microbes may account for one-tenth of the Earth's living biomass, according to an interdisciplinary team of researchers who looked at sediment samples from a variety of depths taken off the coast of Peru, but many of these minute creatures are living on a geologic timescale. The team examined how the microbial world differs in the sub-sea floor from that in the surface waters, with fascinating implications for our understanding of possible lifeforms elsewhere in the Solar System.

Quantum Vision Allows Birds to "See" the Earth's Magnetic Field

Birds' ability to navigate huge distances while migrating has always been a source of natural wonder, and totally sweet long panning shots for nature documentaries.  But now it seems that the avian autopilot is of interest to science, and possibly the X-Men - because the birds might have QUANTUM MAGNO-VISION."

Microbial Email: Scientists Discover Wired Bacteria

We might think we're something special with our global communications network, and we're right, but bacteria are able to grow electrical connections out of their own bodies.  A feat beyond all mortals except Steve Rogers.  Recent research shows that single-celled organisms may be sending electrical-mails of their own.

"10x": The Human Body's Unidentified Microbe Ecosystem

Few of us like to dwell on the fact our human cells are vastly outnumbered (10X) by microbes in our bodies’ cellular cities. If we went by cellular per capita, rather than size of cell, we’d be more microbe than man.

In fact, various microbes have colonized nearly every conceivable part of our bodies, from the inside out. Some make us sick, but most allow us to live. In fact, without our little micro-friends, we couldn’t survive. Microbes known as “probiotics” break down indigestible food, keep us “regular”, make vitamins, and aid the immune system by keeping out harmful bacteria, among other functions.

How did Life Grow in Size from Bacteria to the Blue Whale? Experts See Two Great Leaps

All life on Earth all sprang from the same single-celled organisms that first populated the planet, so how did life grow in size from bacteria to the blue whale?

"It happened primarily in two great leaps, and each time, the maximum size of life jumped up by a factor of about a million," said Jonathan Payne, assistant professor of geological and environmental science at Stanford.

Ultramicrobacterium Discovered: Suitable for Life on Exo Planets

A team of scientists have revived a bacteria after a hundred thousand years under three kilometers of glacier.  The microorganism is one of a new type only recently revealed to science, is small enough to pass through standard sterile filters, and is final proof that scientists just don't watch sci-fi movies.

Can Dolphins Imagine the Future? Expert Says "Yes" -A Galaxy Insight

Partly because their brains are roughly the same size as humans, and are similarly or superiorly complex (although differently evolved in structure), some marine biologists have speculated that dolphins, and other Cetaceans, are at least as intelligent as humans, and could have several unknown communicative abilities, that surpass human understanding.

Human Cell Electric Fields Are As Powerful as Lighting Bolts -A Galaxy Classic

Using newly developed voltage-sensitive nanoparticles, researchers have found that the previously unknown electric fields inside of cells are as strong, or stronger, as those produced in lightning bolts. Previously, it has only been possible to measure electric fields across cell membranes, not within the main bulk of cells, so scientists didn't even know cells had an internal electric field.

"Origins of Life in a Lab": From Amino Acids to Apes with iPods

For over fifty years we've been figuring out life's starting point, finding how a planet-sized chemical tank turned into tigers, sharks and expressways (but not at the same place, at least until we get Michael Bay to accept our screenplay.)  It all started in 1953, when one man made primordial soup in a jar - and we've been improving on the recipe ever since.

"The DNA Code" - New Research Shows Life Hardwired in the Universe

A recent mathematical analysis says that life as we know it is written into the laws of reality.  DNA is built from a set of twenty amino acids - the first ten of those can create simple prebiotic life, and now it seems that those ten are thermodynamically destined to occur wherever they can.

For those unfamiliar with thermodynamics, it's the Big Brother of all energy equations and science itself.  You can apply quantum mechanics at certain scales, and Newtonian mechanics work at the right speeds, but if Thermodynamics says something then everyone listens. An energy analysis by Professors Pudritz and Higgs of McMaster University shows that the first ten amino acids are likely to form at relatively low temperatures and pressures, and the calculated odds of formation match the concentrations of these life-chemicals found in meteorite samples.

"Living-Dead" Extremeophiles: Discovered Thriving Sub-Ocean on Different Metabolic & Genetic Plane

Ancient microbes beneath the sea floor influence the Earth's long-term carbon cycle. Distinct from life on the Earth's surface, these microbes may account for one-tenth of the Earth's living biomass, according to an interdisciplinary team of researchers who looked at sediment samples from a variety of depths taken off the coast of Peru, but many of these minute creatures are living on a geologic timescale. The team examined how the microbial world differs in the sub-sea floor from that in the surface waters, with fascinating implications for our understanding of possible lifeforms elsewhere in the Solar System.

Quantum Vision Allows Birds to "See" the Earth's Magnetic Field

Birds' ability to navigate huge distances while migrating has always been a source of natural wonder, and totally sweet long panning shots for nature documentaries.  But now it seems that the avian autopilot is of interest to science, and possibly the X-Men - because the birds might have QUANTUM MAGNO-VISION."

Microbial Email: Scientists Discover Wired Bacteria

We might think we're something special with our global communications network, and we're right, but bacteria are able to grow electrical connections out of their own bodies.  A feat beyond all mortals except Steve Rogers.  Recent research shows that single-celled organisms may be sending electrical-mails of their own.

"10x": The Human Body's Unidentified Microbe Ecosystem

Few of us like to dwell on the fact our human cells are vastly outnumbered (10X) by microbes in our bodies’ cellular cities. If we went by cellular per capita, rather than size of cell, we’d be more microbe than man.

In fact, various microbes have colonized nearly every conceivable part of our bodies, from the inside out. Some make us sick, but most allow us to live. In fact, without our little micro-friends, we couldn’t survive. Microbes known as “probiotics” break down indigestible food, keep us “regular”, make vitamins, and aid the immune system by keeping out harmful bacteria, among other functions.

How did Life Grow in Size from Bacteria to the Blue Whale? Experts See Two Great Leaps

All life on Earth all sprang from the same single-celled organisms that first populated the planet, so how did life grow in size from bacteria to the blue whale?

"It happened primarily in two great leaps, and each time, the maximum size of life jumped up by a factor of about a million," said Jonathan Payne, assistant professor of geological and environmental science at Stanford.

Ultramicrobacterium Discovered: Suitable for Life on Exo Planets

A team of scientists have revived a bacteria after a hundred thousand years under three kilometers of glacier.  The microorganism is one of a new type only recently revealed to science, is small enough to pass through standard sterile filters, and is final proof that scientists just don't watch sci-fi movies.

Can Dolphins Imagine the Future? Expert Says "Yes" -A Galaxy Insight

Partly because their brains are roughly the same size as humans, and are similarly or superiorly complex (although differently evolved in structure), some marine biologists have speculated that dolphins, and other Cetaceans, are at least as intelligent as humans, and could have several unknown communicative abilities, that surpass human understanding.

Human Cell Electric Fields Are As Powerful as Lighting Bolts -A Galaxy Classic

Using newly developed voltage-sensitive nanoparticles, researchers have found that the previously unknown electric fields inside of cells are as strong, or stronger, as those produced in lightning bolts. Previously, it has only been possible to measure electric fields across cell membranes, not within the main bulk of cells, so scientists didn't even know cells had an internal electric field.