Tag: biology

3.2 ga oil

this is an old article, but i was curious, and the oldest oil ever found is 3.2 ga old.

Australian scientists have discovered the world’s oldest oil in rocks that date back 3.2 ga. The find suggests that oil-forming microorganisms were widespread very early in the Earth’s history.

Interspecies fishing

wow. reminds me of the uplifting of dolphins

They have been reported to exist in Australia, India, Mauritania, Burma, and the Mediterranean, but the best known are in Brazil. In parts of southern Brazil, human fisherman have been cooperating with dolphins for many generations. If fishermen clap just the right way, dolphins will herd fish into the desired areas of fishermen, in muddy lagoon areas. The dolphins perform a distinctive kind of dive to signal to the humans it is time to cast the net for the fish. Only some individual dolphins are able (willing?) to do this well, perhaps the others belong to the 47%. The dolphins which cooperate with the fisherman are also more social, more socially connected, and more cooperative with other dolphins

Quantum effects in biology

Beneath all these quantum solutions to puzzling vital phenomena, we find ourselves with a deeper mystery. Quantum coherence is an immensely delicate phenomenon, depending on those in-tune particle waves. To maintain it, physicists usually have to enclose their systems within near-perfect vacuums and cool them down to very close to absolute zero temperature to freeze out any heat-driven molecular motion. Molecular vibrations are the mortal enemy of quantum coherence. How, then, does life manage to maintain its molecular order for long enough to perform its quantum tricks in warm and wet cells? That remains a profound riddle.

living systems seem to be able to maintain quantum states without decoherence. i’m really curious what the implications for the feasibility of high qubit quantum computers are.

Lattice light sheet

Ultra-high-resolution movies of live 3D biomolecules now possible

A new imaging platform called a “lattice light sheet” developed by Nobel laureate Eric Betzig is a significant leap forward for light microscopy. It captures high-resolution images rapidly and minimizes damage to cells, so it can image the 3D activity of molecules, cells, and embryos in fine detail over longer periods than was previously possible.

And that allows for stunning videos of biological processes across a range of sizes and time scales, from the movements of individual proteins to the development of entire animal embryos.

Demodex

Demodex mites are a group of hair follicle and sebaceous gland-dwelling species. The species of these mites found on humans are arguably the animals with which we have the most intimate interactions. 100% of people over 18 years of age appear to host at least 1 Demodex species, suggesting that Demodex mites may be universal associates of adult humans.

Bioinspired flight

The insect sized drone is still tethered though.

Using mechanisms adopted by birds, bats, insects and snakes, 14 research teams have developed ideas for improving drone-flying performance in complex urban environments.

2022-08-05: How the biomechanics of a bird’s wing allows extraordinary maneuverability.

To quantify each bird’s stability and maneuverability, they calculated an aerodynamic factor called the static margin, the distance between its center of gravity and its neutral point relative to the dimensions of the wing. If a bird’s neutral point was behind its center of gravity, they considered the bird to be inherently stable, meaning that the flying bird would naturally return to its original flight path if pushed off balance. If the neutral point was in front of the center of gravity, then the bird was unstable and would be pushed further from the position it was in — which is exactly what must happen for a bird to be able to do a breathtaking maneuver.

When aeronautical engineers design planes, they set the static margins to achieve the desired performance. Birds, unlike airplanes, can move their wings and shift their body postures, thereby altering their static margins. Modern aircraft can’t do that, not just because their aerodynamic and inertial features are more fixed but because they would need 2 very different control algorithms. Unstable flight means constantly making corrections to avoid crashing. Birds must have to do something similar and there must be some level of cognition involved in that.