Creating enzymes with artificial evolution

It is impossible to create a functional multicellular organism from ordinary 'dead' matter without having the right set of molecules that allow for chemical reactions in the body, which is called metabolism. In order to be able to convert one product into the other, for example turning food into energy, bodies need enzymes. Because the required chemistry in the body is unlikely to happen by chance alone, enzymes are there to speed up the process, by favouring the conditions for a chemical reaction between specific compounds. Enzymes are therefore important and were created very early in evolution, as without them, it is very hard to produce something that is alive. Scientists have great interest in the artificial production of enzymes, something that would allow us to produce things of our own choice. A group of researchers has found a way to let evolution run its course in the artificial production of enzymes.

Engineered bacteria sacrifice themselves for others

Altruism is a form of behaviour thought only to exist in animals that are highly intelligent, such as us human beings. It is defined as having concern for the welfare of others, without having a certain moral obligation. Sacrificing your own life for the well-being of someone else could be considered the ultimate form of altruism, although scientists are still debating whether true altruism exists at all, evolutionary speaking. Scientists have now found such behaviour in bacteria, although this required a bit of modification.

Fertility drives female desire for attractive males

The bond between men and women is instituted by our biology resulting from billions of years of evolution. Male-female bonding is necessary for sexual reproduction, now the golden standard for successful life (although the a-sexual bacteria are not doing bad either). Because being attracted to the (mostly) other sex is a built-in mechanism directed by our most primitive brain structures, there is a lot of unconscious behaviour going on, which is excellent for scientists wishing to uncover our more primal, animal instincts. In this light, a recent study showed that how close a woman feels to her mate is dependent on how sexually attractive the male person is, and whether the female is in her fertile period.

Insight into how stereotypes arise

Around the world there are many different cultures and customs, and that has lead to a great variety of stereotypes. It describes attributes given to individuals belonging to a certain group, while such commonly held beliefs may not accurately reflect reality. Although stereotypes can be a source of comedy, they can also be used in a negative way, for example by leading to racism. Nevertheless, it is interesting to find out how such commonly held beliefs about a group of individuals arise, and scientists from the University of Aberdeen have done just that.

Evolution favoured menopause to reduce competition

Once a woman hits the menopause, she is no longer fertile, effectively ending her capabilities of reproduction. Evolutionists have wondered why something like the menopause exists. Surely it has no evolutionary benefit to keep an organism alive that has no ability to reproduce, one would think. However, there have been some theories regarding the potential benefits, and an international group of scientists performed experiments to see if one of them holds any truth. They found that the menopause reduces competition in families, especially between in-laws.

Ovulation makes women dance more attractively

Evolutionary speaking, a male and female having sex is the most efficient during ovulation. During that time, an egg is released from the female ovaries, which means pregnancy is possible. It is possible that, over the course of millions of years, evolution has made women behave slightly differently during ovulation, in an 'effort' to promote sexual activity during periods of fertility. Previous studies showed that women have a different choice in men during ovulation, and a more recent publication reveals that men perceive a dancing women who is in her fertile period to be more attractive. It seems that fertility therefore coincides with a higher degree of being desired by men, something that is, of course, evolutionary favourable.

Resurrection: bringing old genes back to life

As evolutionary processes such as selection pressure continue to endanger life's existence, many animal species have become extinct over the course of millions and billions of years. Once they go extinct, there is no way to bring them back on earth: a species is defined as a group of animals that are capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. That means that once the last member of the group is gone, no new offspring of that species can be produced. A loss of animal species means a loss of biodiversity, which is why some scientists have tried to find ways to 'resurrect' extinct organisms, which also tells us something about why they went extinct. To do this, researchers try to obtain DNA still present on bones found from fossils or other remains. Because DNA contains the building blocks for building an organism, animal species can theoretically be brought back to life. Scientists from the Georgia Institute of Technology have set a first step in that direction.

New clues about origin of the nervous system found

Our nervous system is what sets us apart from other animals. We are conscious of ourselves and our surroundings, and our brain makes us able to create things that greatly extend our capabilities of survival. Human beings have a complex nervous system with a central part of which the brain is the most important. Simple organisms lack this central part, and just use simple 'wiring' to control body functions. In evolution, the nervous system has become increasingly complex, and scientists from the University of California in Santa Barbara have found clues about the origin of this magnificent system.

Humans can identify each other's age by smell

Our olfactory senses, the official word for smell, are quite peculiar. They are strongly connected with our feelings, as some things smell repulsive, while other things smell rather appealing. Smell is also strongly associated with memory, as a single scent can bring back elaborate memories of an event in the past. Scientists from the Monell Center have discovered an additional fun fact about smell: it helps us discern age. It appears that human body odours tell us something about how old someone is.

Humanity is still evolving

It has been hypothesized that modern humans are not evolving anymore. Evolution, of the kind Charles Darwin first publicized, requires selection pressure, and it is thought that our modern society does not offer enough competition to 'weed out the weak'. Research from the University of Sheffield points in the opposite direction, with scientists claiming mankind is still undergoing evolutionary changes. According to them, mankind has shown signs of evolution over the last couple of hundred years.

Early evolution of life tells us how to treat many diseases

There are still many secrets surrounding the question of how life on Earth came to be. Somehow, out of inorganic molecules, biological compounds such as amino acids and strings of genetic code were created. Later, these substances were 'packaged' into cells and possibly viruses, and the first bacteria also came into existence. Because bacteria are still around today, they are readily studied by scientists to uncover traces of evolutionary mechanisms that brought us to where we are today. A biological process analysed by the Case Western Reserve University explains something about the evolution of bacteria, but more importantly, gives us leads to treat a great variety of diseases.

Fat metabolism aided evolution of the human brain

Our brains are arguably one of the most wondrous results of billions of years of evolution, which is why scientists are devoting a lot of resources to uncover how our capabilities of thought have developed. A recent study performed by Uppsala University revealed that the way we metabolize certain fats has in the past aided the way our brains evolved our extraordinary features. A previous study, performed by universities in Manchester and Barcelona, already showed how our skull shape contributed to brain evolution.

Protein evolution allows for longer life

Not all animals reach the same age during their life. Usually, bigger animals have a longer life span, even though there are some exceptions. Humans seem to live exceptionally long, but that might just be due to our own, seemingly artificial, attempts at prolonging life. Scientists from the University of Liverpool investigated 30 animal species to find out what makes certain species live longer than others. They tracked a bunch of proteins and correlated differences in structure with longevity, which yielded results showing how evolution of certain protein structures made animals live longer. We may be able to use this information to slow down our own ageing process.

Large brain size favourable for having friends

It appears you need a large brain if you want to maintain a large social network. Especially one brain area seems to be of importance, as British scientists found a correlation between size of this area and the number of friends one has. According to the researchers, the ability to make friends and maintaining them is a complex process which calls for the need of a large social and cognitive brain. By discovering how it works, it also tells us something about how our social skills evolved.

Brain scan reveals 'child care' centre in adults

We behave in a particular way because our brains are sending out signals. Brain cells, called neurons, communicate with each other, and certain areas have specialized themselves by focusing on specific tasks. We have found brain areas for movement, language, math and many other things that require our 'grey matter'. Scientists use scans that map activity in a certain area to find out which part is responsible for certain functions. Fine-tuning the technique resulted in the discovery of many more small parts with a specific function. Latest is a brain area that makes us take care of children. It appears as if providing care is hardcoded into our brain, which basically means we do not do it by choice.

New human species found in China

Humans living today are of the species Homo sapiens, currently the only one in the genus 'Homo'. Several other species have died out thousands of years ago, including Homo erectus, Homo neanderthalensis and Homo heidelbergensis. None of these ancient hominids are around today, as only Homo sapiens managed to succeed in survival. We know of a fair few other species that are classified as hominids and therefore have, or had, the potential to turn into modern humans like ourselves. Careful analysis of a skull has recently revealed a human form we have never seen before. It has some characteristics that make it similar to us, but according to scientists, it represents a whole new species.

Study shows animals evolved 'half an eye'

An argument that is often thrown against the evolutionary basis of life is the absence of likeliness that animals develop complex structures such as an eye. If evolution develops gradually, then how did eyes develop? What good is half an eye? Despite reasonable counterarguments that show that gradual steps of improvement can indeed lead to the improbable event of the creation of an eye, physical proof in the animal was still lacking. At the University of California in Santa Barbara scientists have proven what every evolutionist has already been proclaiming, by showing that there are animals with an intermediate form of vision. Not quite an eye, but certainly something that points in that direction.

Life's first cells probably arose from thermal pools

One of the biggest questions of the evolution of life, is how its most basic form came to be. Cells, spheres covered by a lipid layer containing DNA, proteins and various cellular machines which all work together to function as a single organism. It is hard to imagine how the first cells could have been created from a 'soup' of inorganic molecules. Scientists believe it all started about 4 billion years ago. At the University of Osnabrück, scientists argue that the first cells probably arose from thermal pools: extremely hot sources of water and various elements, that are similar to the conditions found inside cells.

Evolutionary origin of photosynthesis traced

Scientists claim to have found the evolutionary origin of photosynthesis, the process which enables plants to turn sunlight into energy with aid of carbon dioxide. A group of international scientists lead by the Rutgers University unravelled the genome of a specific type of algae, that is supposed to be one of the earliest life forms that acquired the capability of photosynthesis. Getting to know the evolutionary step of how plants can retrieve energy from sunlight is important for our knowledge about how we came to exist, because it is one of the most important features in the evolution theory of life.

Disease-causing prions have evolutionary benefits

Prions are usually associated with mad cow disease, or creutzfeldt-jakob disease. They are proteins gone bad, which aggregate in places where they shouldn't, such as the brain. They have changed their appearance resulting in loss of their original function. Because their capability to reproduce and aggregate is harmful, it usually causes the patient to die. However, scientists have shown that prion formation may actually benefit an organism in harsh conditions. It is thought to be an important evolutionary process to create the much-needed diversity to survive challenging environments as a species.