evolution – Page 12 – My WordPress Site

An integrated approach to date bacterial evolution and reconstruct the history of oxygen adaptation. We inferred a bacterial timetree by integrating genomic, fossil, and geochemical data and linking oxygen tolerance and aerobic metabolism to the GOE. Colors denote anaerobic (blue) and aerobic (red) states, whereas shades of purple show the fraction of aerobic lineages within extant bacterial phyla. Mitochondria and plastids were included to leverage the more extensive eukaryotic fossils. Land plants and animals are indicated for temporal comparison. -- Science

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life

Molecular Clock Analysis Shows Bacteria Used Oxygen Long Before Widespread Photosynthesis

by Keith CowingApril 23, 2025April 23, 2025

Summary of the geodynamic, topographic, climatological, and biogeographical evolution of the system. Regional paleogeography with profiles showing mantle density anomalies from Straume, et al. 68 -- Nature .

Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Origin & Evolution of Life, Tethys

How Earth’s Mantle Activity Drove Humans And Animals Into Asia And Africa

by Keith CowingApril 22, 2025October 7, 2025

Evolution of protein-coding gene length distributions across evolutionary time Credit ill./©: Fernando J. Ballesteros

Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life

The Eukaryotic Cell Emerged As An Evolutionary Algorithmic Phase Transition

by Keith CowingApril 18, 2025September 18, 2025

Overview of the methodological pipeline for massive protein structure prediction and experimental crystallographic analysis of extant and ancestral nitrogenase enzymes.

Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life

Structural Evolution Of Nitrogenase Enzymes Over Geologic Time

by Keith CowingApril 12, 2025April 12, 2025

Odds ratio of the hypotheses that abiogenesis is a fast vs slow process. Each curve represents the odds ratio, computed using Equation 1, as a function of the biosphere’s ultimate lifespan, T - although we have subtracted off the modern epoch to yield remaining time on the x-axis. Previous estimates [1, 8] for the earliest evidence of life yield the dotted and dashed lines, but the new LUCA date of 4.2 Gya [10] greatly improves the odds factor. Indeed, the three solid lines show how the odds are always above 10:1 irrespective of how one chooses T or indeed fairly extreme choices (Carboniferious and Cambrian period) for the earliest civilization on Earth, t ′ I - evident by the circles which denote the minima. -- astro-ph.EP

Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Habitable Zones, Origin & Evolution of Life

Strong Evidence That Abiogenesis Is a Rapid Process on Earth Analogs

by Keith CowingApril 9, 2025

Summarizing figure showing all educts and products detected during simultaneous reduction of NAD+ and NMN. NMN produces more side products than NAD, possibly creating a mechanistic bottleneck for the back reaction, for which only one-time reduced nicotinamides have a comparable reducing strength – both overreduction products such as NMNH3 and hydrolysis products such as NMNH2OH could likely not compete as reducing agents in a prebiotic scenario. Consequently, only single-reduced species such 1,4-NADH and 1,4-NMNH could be coupled for reduction reactions, thus detaching the reduction from a mineral surface. Based on assessments of the redox potential, we assume 1,6-NADH being able to reduce equally well as 1,4-NADH – not accounting for possible steric hindrances. -- Research Square

Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life

Reduction Of NAD and NMN On Mineral Surfaces With H2 Reveals A Functional Role For The Adenosine Moiety In Prebiotic Evolution

by Keith CowingApril 8, 2025

Evolved macroscopic "snowflake" yeast from the MuLTEE experiment. The large size of the nuclei (yellow) and cells (cyan) are results of whole-genome duplication and aneuploidy. Credit Georgia Institute of Technology

Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Origin & Evolution of Life

Whole-genome Duplication Drives Long-term Adaptation

by Keith CowingApril 5, 2025

The Permian is a geologic period and system which extends from 298.9 ± 0.2 to 252.2 ± 0.5 (Million years ago). The Permian–Triassic (P–Tr or P–T) extinction event formed the boundary between the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras. It is the Earth’s most severe known extinction event, with up to 96% of all marine species and 70% of terrestrial vertebrate species becoming extinct. -- NOAA

Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extinction events, Fossils & Paleontology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives

How Survivors Spanned The Globe After Earth’s Biggest Mass Extinction

by Keith CowingApril 4, 2025April 4, 2025

An integrated approach to date bacterial evolution and reconstruct the history of oxygen adaptation. We inferred a bacterial timetree by integrating genomic, fossil, and geochemical data and linking oxygen tolerance and aerobic metabolism to the GOE. Colors denote anaerobic (blue) and aerobic (red) states, whereas shades of purple show the fraction of aerobic lineages within extant bacterial phyla. Mitochondria and plastids were included to leverage the more extensive eukaryotic fossils. Land plants and animals are indicated for temporal comparison. -- Science

AI - Data - Apps - Cybernetics, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life

Machine Learning Helps Construct An Evolutionary Timeline Of Bacteria

by Keith CowingApril 4, 2025April 4, 2025

Stentors form temporary colonies in a half-hemisphere shape. Credit Shashank Shekhar

Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Origin & Evolution of Life

A New Clue To How Multicellular Life May Have Evolved

by Keith CowingApril 1, 2025April 1, 2025