In the top layers of soil, microbes digest dead wood and fallen leaves, while threadlike roots release carbon dioxide as they burn energy to stay alive and grow. Together, that CO₂ output is called ...

Complex cells are thought to be the result of a union between two ancient microorganisms, but scientists have long been ...

Life on Earth may have learned to breathe oxygen long before oxygen filled the skies. MIT researchers traced a key ...

Nucleotide synthesis-the production of the basic components of DNA and RNA-is essential for cell growth and division.

Nucleotide synthesis-the production of the basic components of DNA and RNA-is essential for cell growth and division.

Nucleotide synthesis—the production of the basic components of DNA and RNA—is essential for cell growth and division. In most ...

NQR is a sodium pump that drives the respiration of many marine and pathogenic bacteria. Using redox reactions, the process of exchanging electrons between materials, it powers the transportation of ...

Oxygen is a vital and constant presence on Earth today. But that hasn't always been the case. It wasn't until around 2.3 billion years ago that oxygen became a permanent fixture in the atmosphere, ...

Scientists have identified a mirror-image form of the amino acid cysteine that selectively slows the growth of certain ...

An MIT study suggests some early life forms may have evolved the ability to use oxygen hundreds of millions of years before ...

Dr. Shech is a professor of philosophy who specializes in the philosophy of science. As popular mistrust of expert opinion grows, we increasingly encounter the following skeptical argument about ...