Evolution - Intelligent Design

Evolution is a process in which something passes by degrees to a different stage, especially a more advanced or mature stage within a population. Evolution in biology is the sequence of events involved in the evolutionary development of a species or taxonomic group of organisms.



How did life go from chemistry to biology? How did it go from molecule to cell? How did it go from cell to organism? What was the origin of the chemical structures that form the subunits of hereditary molecules RNA and DNA? How did molecules link into long chains and encode information and then reproduce to pass on information? Evolution is about natural selection and the adaptation of species, because those are facts that can be explained and understood by most people. Evolution does not explain where species originate from, or does evolution clearly explain how life starts. Not even physics can explain how life starts. Evolution is a process of life, life is not a process of evolution. If the instructions are already in the DNA, then that's not evolution, that's a planned development. So who planned it? Humans had a beginning. Evolution does not mean that you evolved from monkeys or that you evolved from bacteria, evolution says that almost all life forms on earth share similar building blocks of life. Evolution is an understanding that things change because the environment changes. And if you don't adapt, then you die, just like 90% of all life has done since the beginning of planet Earth.

Believing in God does not mean that you can't believe in evolution, and believing in evolution does not mean that you can't believe in God. Believing in God does not excuse you from learning the facts in the same way that believing in evolution does not excuse you from learning about religion and what it's like to believe in a God. Ignorance is the only thing that divides people. To assume that you know the origin of life is the same thing as assuming that you know who God is or knowing who created God.

Earth Timeline - Traits - Heredity - Mutations - Cells - Humans - Intelligent Design

Don't confuse life with evolution, or confuse evolution with adaptation. Though they are related in certain ways, those are three different things with different definitions that are not 100 percent defined. How did life evolve from nonliving matter?

Adapting - Being Able to Change

Adapt is to adjust oneself or to make fit for a new or different condition. To progress and make changes to suit a new purpose.

Adaptation is any alteration or modification in the structure or function of an organism or any of its parts that makes the organism become better fitted to a changed environment so that it can survive and multiply. Adaptation is the dynamic evolutionary process that fits organisms to their environment, enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Secondly, it is a state reached by the population during that process. Thirdly, it is a phenotypic trait or adaptive trait, with a functional role in each individual organism, that is maintained and has evolved through natural selection.

Readapt is to adapt to a new situation or to adjust for a particular situation. Reboot.

Adaptive Performance refers to adjusting to and understanding change in the workplace.

The process of learning is essential if you want to adapt. Stubbornness creates vulnerabilities and adapting to the wrong things could shorten your life instead of extending your life.

Cultural Changes - Open Minded - Resolve - Situation Awareness - Adaptive Behavior

Rehabilitate - Compromise - Reduce - Diversify - Metamorphism - Mutate

Changeable is capable of or tending to change in form or quality or nature.

Change is to become different in some particular way, without permanently losing one's former characteristics or essence. An event that occurs when something passes from one state or phase to another. A relational difference between states, especially between states before and after some event. To exchange or replace something with another, usually of the same kind or category. "The only thing that is constant is that things will change".

Change your Tune is to behave in a different way or express a different opinion or belief.

Change with the Times is to modify or update your behavior or beliefs to reflect what is current at the present time or generally accepted or used at the moment. Improvise. Dramatic Turn of Events.

Ripe for Change is when something is prepared or ready to undergo a different way of doing something or a better way of doing something.

Transition - Impermanence - Simplicity - Process - Plasticity - Relative - Sustainability

Inflection Point is a point of a curve at which a change in the direction of curvature occurs. A point on a continuous plane curve at which the curve changes from being concave (concave downward) to convex (concave upward), or vice versa.

Watershed Moment is an event marking a unique or important historical change or turning point, a historic moment on which important developments depend. An event or period that is important because it represents a big change in how people do things or how people think about something. Watershed is a geographical term that describes an area that drains into a single river, which is the watershed for that river. The entire geographical area drained by a river and its tributaries; an area characterized by all runoff being conveyed to the same outlet. Tributaries is a branch that flows into the main stream.

Dynamic is something that is able to change and adapt. Characterized by constant change, activity, or progress. Dynamic person is someone with a positive attitude and is full of energy and new ideas. A characteristic or manner of an interaction; a behavior. Characterized by action, forcefulness or force of personality. Dynamics in physics is concerned with the forces that cause motions of bodies. Dynamics in music is the varying loudness of sound; the markings in a musical score that indicates the desired level of volume.

Environmental Change is a change or disturbance of the environment most often caused by human influences and natural ecological processes. Environmental changes can include any number of things, including natural disasters, human interferences, or animal interaction. Environmental change does not only encompass physical changes, but it can be things like an infestation of invasive species is also environmental changes.

Evolutionary Trap is when an evolutionary adaptive trait has suddenly become maladaptive, leading to the extinction of the species. Within behavioral and ecological sciences, evolutionary traps occur when rapid environmental change triggers organisms to make maladaptive or unsustainable behavioral decisions.

Metabolic Flexibility is the ability to respond or adapt to conditional changes in metabolic demand.

Climatize is to adapt for comfort in extreme climates, especially as regards to temperature. Climate Change.

Acclimatization is the process in which an individual organism adjusts to a change in its environment (such as a change in altitude, temperature, humidity, photoperiod, or pH), allowing it to maintain performance across a range of environmental conditions. Acclimatization occurs in a short period of time (hours to weeks), and within the organism's lifetime (compared to adaptation, which is a development that takes place over many generations). This may be a discrete occurrence (for example, when mountaineers acclimate to high altitude over hours or days) or may instead represent part of a periodic cycle, such as a mammal shedding heavy winter fur in favor of a lighter summer coat. Organisms can adjust their morphological, behavioral, physical, and/or biochemical traits in response to changes in their environment. While the capacity to acclimate to novel environments has been well documented in thousands of species, researchers still know very little about how and why organisms acclimate the way that they do. (also called acclimation, acclimatation or acclimatisation).

Adapting to Climate Change: We're doing it Wrong. Policymakers are thinking too small. Most studies have emphasized the psychology behind individual coping strategies in the face of isolated hazards that comes from the point of view of a single household managing their own risk. What is needed is systems-level thinking about what is truly adaptive for society,
change entire systems through transformational actions and on barriers that keep people from embracing transformative efforts.

Fluidity is a changeable quality. The property of flowing easily. A continuous, amorphous substance whose molecules move freely past one another and has the tendency to assume the shape of its container. Fluid intelligence.

Modulate is to fix or adjust the time, amount, degree, or the rate of something. Modulate in music is the change of key or to adjust the pitch, tone, or volume of a sound or to vary the frequency, amplitude, phase, or other characteristic of an electromagnetic wave.

Adjust is to alter, regulate or modulate something so as to achieve accuracy or to conform to a standard or to adapt or conform oneself to new or different conditions and make something equivalent or conformable. But Not Conform.

Adjustable is capable of being changed so as to match or fit. - Amend (repeal).

Adjustment is to change or alter something to work better or look better; adjusting to circumstances. Adjusting something to match a standard. The process of adapting to something. Modify.

Adjustive is the ability to make adjustments and making a certain situation or outcome likely or possible and bringing about something favorable or helpful. Conducive.

Readjust is to adjust again after an initial failure. Learning form Mistakes.

Responsiveness is the quality of reacting quickly to people and events, especially emergencies.

Modification is the act of making something different and not an exact copy. An event that occurs when something passes from one state or phase to another. Expression - Remix.

Alteration is an event that occurs when something passes from one state or phase to another. The act of making something different. The act of revising or altering involving reconsideration and modification.

Flexible is capable of being changed. Able to adjust readily to different conditions. Flexibility in personality is the extent to which a person can cope with changes in circumstances and think about problems and tasks in novel, creative ways. Cognitive Flexibility is the mental ability to switch between thinking about two different concepts, and to think about multiple concepts simultaneously. Discipline.

Differentiation in biology is the structural adaptation of some body part for a particular function. To notice something as being different and identify things as being distinct or not exactly the same.

Differentiate is to become different during development and become distinct and acquire a different character. To evolve so as to lead to a new species or develop in a way most suited to the environment. Stem Cell.

Alter is to cause something to change or make something different and cause a transformation.

Alteration is an event that occurs when something passes from one state or phase to another. The act of making something different.

Revise is to update, correct and improve something. Rewrite, or do or say something differently.

Reassess is to consider or assess again, especially while paying attention to new or different factors.

Reevaluate is to evaluate again or evaluate differently. Imagination.

Reappraisal is an assessment of something or someone again or in a different way.

Reimagine is reinterpret something imaginatively. Rethink - Recycle.

Sacrifice is to give up something, or to endure the loss of something important. Sometimes a sacrifice has to be made because of an accident, or as the result of a crime or a penalty, or from a mistake that you made, or sometimes as a result of not doing something that you needed to do. A sacrifice can also be when you have to surrendered something or lose something in order to gain a much more important objective, or to increase your resilience. So the cost of keeping something may far exceed its current estimated value. Something's that were once valuable, may not be so valuable in the future, though everything is relative.

Transformation is a change. When something becomes different. An event that occurs when something passes from one state or phase to another. Plasticity (brain).

Adaptation is a trait with a current functional role in the life of an organism that is maintained and evolved by means of Natural Selection, which is the differential survival and reproduction of individuals over time due to differences in phenotype, which is the observable characteristics or traits, the expression of an organism's genetic code.

Co-Adaptation is the process by which two or more species, genes or phenotypic traits undergo adaptation as a pair or group. This occurs when two or more interacting characteristics undergo natural selection together in response to the same selective pressure or when selective pressures alter one characteristic and consecutively alter the interactive characteristic. These interacting characteristics are only beneficial when together, sometimes leading to increased interdependence. Co-adaptation and coevolution, although similar in process, are not the same; co-adaptation refers to the interactions between two units, whereas co-evolution refers to their evolutionary history. Co-adaptation and its examples are often seen as evidence for co-evolution.

Adaptive Management is a structured, iterative process of robust decision making in the face of uncertainty, with an aim to reducing uncertainty over time via system monitoring. In this way, decision making simultaneously meets one or more resource management objectives and, either passively or actively, accrues information needed to improve future management. Adaptive management is a tool which should be used not only to change a system, but also to learn about the system. Because adaptive management is based on a learning process, it improves long-run management outcomes. The challenge in using the adaptive management approach lies in finding the correct balance between gaining knowledge to improve management in the future and achieving the best short-term outcome based on current knowledge. This approach has more recently been employed in implementing international development programs.

Adaptive Behavior refers to behavior that enables a person to get along in his or her environment with greatest success and least conflict with others. This is a term used in the areas of psychology and special education. Adaptive behavior relates to every day skills or tasks that the average person is able to complete, similar to the term life skills.

Behavioral Adaptation is a change affecting the way an organism naturally acts. Activities that an organism does to help it survive in its natural habitat, like migration, hibernation, dormancy, camouflage, and estivation. These behaviors can be learned or instinctive.

Physiological Adaptations are internal systematic responses to external stimuli in order to help an organism maintain homeostasis.

Domesticated is to be converted or adapted to domestic use and accustomed to home life. To overcome wildness and make docile and tractable. To make fit for cultivation, domestic life, and service to humans. To adapt a wild plant or unclaimed land to the environment.

Structural Adaptation is a change involving a physical aspect of an organism.

Functional Adaptation is any adaptation that helps an organism survive.

If a women tells her girl friend that the guy that she's interested in, "He's a nice guy once you get to know him, what she's really saying is, "he's an as*hole but you'll get use to it." Be careful about what you're adapting to. Being passive will only take you so far.

Life is a Learning Program - How digital DNA could help you make better health choices (video and interactive text)

Turn Your Life Around is to completely change or improve one's life.

Don't be afraid to start over, because you're not starting from nothing, you're starting from experience.

By All Means, please do what is needed.

You can say that something is broken, and end with that. But how can you be sure if you are not overlooking an opportunity to make progress? How do you know when you have adapted to being stupid? The only way to know if you have adapted to being stupid is to learn more about yourself and the world around you and see if there is any difference in your thinking. Baseline.

Easy Come Easy Go, hang in there. You got to do what you got to do. But remember, do what you should, does not mean you can, and just because you can do something, this does not mean you should do something. But you you got to do something.

Ruggero Leoncavallo - Pagliacci - Vesti La Giubba - Pavarotti (youtube) - Act! While in delirium, I no longer know what I say, or what I do! And yet it's necessary... make an effort! Bah! Are you even a man? You are a clown! Put on your costume and powder your face. The people are paying, and they want to laugh here. And if Harlequin steals away your Columbina, laugh, clown, and all will applaud! Turn your distress and tears into jokes, your pain and sobs into a smirk, Ah! Laugh, clown, at your broken love! Laugh at the grief that poisons your heart!

The Show Must Go On means that regardless of what happens, whatever show has been planned still has to be staged for the waiting patrons. (Ridi, Pagliaccio, sul tuo amore infranto! Ridi del duol, che t'avvelena il cor!). Life is an Improv - Life is a Stage.

Overture, curtain, lights, This is it, the night of nights, No more rehearsing and nursing a part, We know every part by heart. Overture, curtain, lights, This is it, we'll hit the heights, And oh what heights we'll hit, On with the show this is it. Tonight what heights we'll hit. On with the show, this is it.

Proteus is an early prophetic sea-god or god of rivers and oceanic bodies of water, one of several deities whom Homer calls the "Old Man of the Sea". Some who ascribe a specific domain to Proteus call him the god of "elusive sea change", which suggests the constantly changing nature of the sea or the liquid quality of water. He can foretell the future, but, in a mytheme familiar to several cultures, will change his shape to avoid doing so; he answers only to those who are capable of capturing him. From this feature of Proteus comes the adjective protean, meaning "versatile", "mutable", or "capable of assuming many forms". "Protean" has positive connotations of flexibility, versatility and adaptability. Proteus bacilli are widely distributed in nature as saprophytes, being found in decomposing animal matter. Proteus Bacterium (wiki).

Human Micro-Evolutionary Changes

Adapting to lower levels of Oxygen. Human species have adapted to lowland environment where oxygen is generally abundant. But people in Tibet, the Andes and Ethiopia have acquired the ability to survive at extremely high altitudes. While the rest of human population would suffer serious health consequences, these native inhabitants thrive well in the highest parts of the world. Tibetans has become the fastest case of human evolution in the scientific record, as it is estimated to have occurred in less than 3,000 years.

Adaptationism is the view that many physical and psychological traits of organisms are evolved adaptations.

Genetic 'memory' of ancestral environments helps organisms readapt. The chicken was domesticated from the red jungle fowl in South Asia and Southeast Asia at least 4,000 to 4,500 years ago. It was brought to the Tibetan Plateau by about 1,200 years ago, where it acquired high-altitude adaptations such as an increase in oxygen-carrying red blood cells.

People around the Arctic Circle are more adapted to cold and you can see them taking a swim or a sunbath on the beach when temperatures are just above 10 degrees C. Africans are more adapted to heat, but when temperature drops to 15 degrees C, you can see them wearing warm clothes. People around the Arctic Circle are used to eat meat and animal fat, but when they move to a large town, where their diet will consist mainly of vegetables, they get anemia. Europeans are most adapted for consuming milk, while Chinese people, where historically milk was not used for food, have a high percentage of lactose intolerance. This is an adaptation made by the organisms of European people for their food regime. People that remained around the contemned zone in Chernobyl seem to have adapted to a certain level of radiation.

Adapting Genetically to Arsenic. Andean communities may have evolved the ability to metabolize arsenic, a trait that could be the first documented example of a toxic substance acting as an agent of natural selection in humans, Arsenic exposure can be deadly, but high in the Andes, drinking water laced with the chemical may have driven genetic adaptation in local populations. In parts of Argentina, people have been drinking poison—arsenic, to be specific—for thousands of years. The river running through the Andean village of San Antonio de los Cobres (SAC) has arsenic levels up to 80 times the safe limit established by the World Health Organization. At high doses, arsenic causes vomiting, convulsions and eventually coma. At low, chronic exposure, the metal causes skin lesions, liver damage and several types of cancers.

Human Hearts evolved for endurance. Major physical changes occurred in the human heart as people shifted from hunting and foraging to farming and modern life. As a result, human hearts are now less 'ape-like' and better suited to endurance types of activity.

Obesity is a form of Adaptation - Adapting to Space Travel

Orthogenesis is the biological hypothesis that organisms have an innate tendency to evolve in a definite direction towards some goal (teleology) due to some internal mechanism or "driving force".

Wisdom Teeth are gradually diapering. Because early humans needed to chew coarse, hearty foods, they required a broader jaw. Wisdom teeth grew in to give them more chewing power for this purpose. Because the jaw was wider, the wisdom teeth were able to grow in with no difficulties. But wisdom teeth haven't served much purpose for humans in more than 30,000 years. And in recent years, people have actually stopped growing them at all, and the reasons behind the disappearance of wisdom teeth suggest that human beings don't quite represent a finished product.

Flightless bird species at risk of extinction. Bird species that have lost the ability to fly through evolution have become extinct more often than birds that have retained their ability to fly, according to new research.

Somatic Hypermutation is a cellular mechanism by which the immune system adapts to the new foreign elements that confront it (e.g. microbes), as seen during class switching. A major component of the process of affinity maturation, SHM diversifies B cell receptors used to recognize foreign elements (antigens) and allows the immune system to adapt its response to new threats during the lifetime of an organism. Somatic hypermutation involves a programmed process of mutation affecting the variable regions of immunoglobulin genes. Unlike germline mutation, SHM affects only an organism's individual immune cells, and the mutations are not transmitted to the organism's offspring. Mistargeted somatic hypermutation is a likely mechanism in the development of B-cell lymphomas and many other cancers.

Transgenerational Epigenetic Inheritance is the transmission of information from one generation of an organism to the next (i.e., parent–child transmission) that affects the traits of offspring without alteration of the primary structure of DNA (i.e., the sequence of nucleotides)—in other words, epigenetically. The less precise term "epigenetic inheritance" may be used to describe both cell–cell and organism–organism information transfer. Although these two levels of epigenetic inheritance are equivalent in unicellular organisms, they may have distinct mechanisms and evolutionary distinctions in multicellular organisms.

Lamarckism is the hypothesis that an organism can pass on characteristics that it has acquired through use or disuse during its lifetime to its offspring. It is also known as the inheritance of acquired characteristics or soft inheritance.

Scientists have found that Cephalopods are able to edit their RNA, at the expense of evolution in their genomic DNA. In other words, they are able to rapidly change on the cellular level to suit their environment, rather than relying on the slow evolution of DNA to make changes. Long Genomes.

Resilience - Handling Difficult Conditions

Resilient is able to withstand or recover quickly from difficult conditions or bouncing back from difficult experiences. Able to recoil or spring back into shape after bending, stretching, or being compressed. Resilience is the process of adapting well in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats or significant sources of stress, such as family and relationship problems, serious health problems or workplace and financial stressors.

Resilience is the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties. Having mental toughness and able to learn new things.

Psychological Resilience is the ability to successfully cope with problems and to return to pre-crisis status quickly. An individual's ability to successfully adapt to life tasks in the face of social disadvantage or highly adverse conditions. Adversity and stress can come in the shape of family or relationship problems, health problems, or workplace and financial worries, among others. Resilience is one's ability to bounce back from a negative experience with "competent functioning". Resilience is not a rare ability; in reality, it is found in the average individual and it can be learned and developed by virtually anyone. Resilience should be considered a process, rather than a trait to be had. It is a process of individuation through a structured system with gradual discovery of personal and unique abilities.

Survival of the Fittest suggests that organisms best adjusted to their environment are the most successful in surviving and reproducing. Describes the mechanism of natural selection.

Mental Toughness is being able to cope with difficult situations and able to handle pressure and avoid any lifestyle distractions and emerge without losing confidence.

Fight or Flight - Self Defense - Will Power - Survival - Resolve - Active not Passive

Law of the Jungle is an expression that has come to mean "every man for himself", "anything goes", "survival of the strongest", "survival of the fittest", "kill or be killed", "dog eat dog" or "eat or be eaten".

Diamond Hands means that you're ready to hold a position for the end goal, despite the potential risk, headwinds and losses. Brave.

Stable is being strong minded and dependable and maintaining an equilibrium. Not subject to abnormal fluctuations.

Steadfast is marked by firm determination or resolution. Being dependable and loyal. 

Survival Tips - Elastic (bounce back or spring back into shape) - Resurrection - Extremophiles.

"Life requires everyone to make sudden and planned adjustments to meet its demands. The greater the demand the greater the adjustment must be."

Resolute is characterized by firmness, determination and purpose.

Resourceful is having inner resources and the ability to use other resources effectively and efficiently. Having the ability to find quick and clever ways to overcome difficulties. Creative Problem Solving.

Resourcefulness is the quality of being able to cope with a difficult situation.

Robustness is the property of being strong and healthy in constitution, or a hardy, stable core and foundation, from which all else stems. The characteristic of being strong enough to withstand intellectual challenge. Robustness in biology is used to describe a taxon with a stronger and heavier build when compared to a related gracile taxon.

Enduring is to continue to live and exist by withstanding unpleasant hardships for a specified period of time. Being persistent and refusing to stop. (Make do with what you have). Endure is to continue to live through hardship or adversity and persist for a specified period of time. To face hardship and withstand with courage. To put up with something or somebody unpleasant and continue to exist.

Toughness is having enduring strength, energy and staying power.

Worse for Wear is not in any worse condition despite rough treatment or a trying situation.

Durable is something that can exist for a long time. Capable of withstanding wear and tear and decay. Very long lasting.

Continue is to keep or maintain something in good condition that would allow it to remain or last, so as to move ahead and travel onward in time or space and exist over a prolonged period of time.

Constant is steadfast in purpose or devotion or affection. Uninterrupted in time and indefinitely long continuing. Unvarying in nature. Mathematical Constant.

Persevere is to be persistent and refusing to stop. To quietly and steadily preserve, especially in detail or exactness.

Invincible is being powerful or strong willed and able to defend yourself against threats, violence or intimidation.

Doer is a person who acts and gets things done. Problem Solver.

Stiff Upper Lip is a person who is displays fortitude and stoicism in the face of adversity, or exercises great self-restraint in the expression of emotion. Focused - Patience (tolerate).

Bucking Up is to become encouraged, reinvigorated, or cheerful; to summon one's courage or spirits; to pluck up courage.

Words of Encouragement: When you're so fucked, and you're not doing anything to unfuck yourself, that means that your fucking up other people too. So you have to stop being stuckup and stop being a fuckup. You have to buckup and suck it up, because we have a lot of fucking work to do. So, do you want to help us or leave us? And what ever you decide, just please promise us that you will stop fucking us and stop fucking around. We don't need your shit, we need you.

Time to Move On or Moving On is to stop dwelling and stop thinking moodily or anxiously about something on a continuing basis. Living in the Past is to dwell on or reminisce at length about past events. Let it Go is to choose not to react to an action or remark, or to stop being angry about something that happened in the past. To free yourself from a painful traumatic event. Progress.

Take it on the Chin is to endure or accept misfortune courageously. Grin and bear it, hang in there, suck it up, tough it out.

Roll with the Punches is to move one's body away from an opponent's blows so as to lessen the impact. Adapt oneself to adverse circumstances.

Keeping it Together means to maintain composure and avoid an overly emotional reaction. To suppress an instinct or urge.

Hang Tough is to remain focused, alert, strong-willed and brave, especially when experiencing duress or adversity.

Hunker Down is to make yourself comfortable in a place or situation, or to prepare to stay in a place or position for a long time, usually in order to achieve something or for protection. To stay in a place for a period of time until a storm has passed.

Roll Up Your Sleeves is to prepare yourself to do some difficult work that is messy, so to avoid getting your long sleeve shirt wet or dirty, you would roll the sleeves back a bit.

To Hold Your Own means to retain a position of strength in a challenging situation. Can do something well enough.

To Have What it Takes means to have the skill, intelligence, personality and persistence that is necessary to achieve something.

Go the Extra Mile is when you're willing to make a special effort to do something or achieve something.

Ride it Out is to deal with a difficult situation without being harmed or over stressed. To make it safely through a dangerous or difficult situation. To succeed in surviving or getting through something dangerous that cannot be avoided. (You have to know when to ride it out and know when to treat it, and you have to know when you have a choice or don't have a choice.) Pain.

Tubthumping (I Get Knocked Down) Chumbawamba (youtube) - I get knocked down, but I get up again, You are never gonna keep me down. Songs about Resilience.

Overcome is to succeed in dealing with a problem or difficulty.

Prevail is proving to be more powerful and more superior than opposing forces. To be valid, applicable, or true. To be larger in number, quantity, power, status or importance. To use persuasion successfully. Continue to exist. Being victorious. Winning.

Rise Above It is to successfully deal with a difficult problem or an unpleasant situation, while not letting the problem affect you or distract you from your abilities.

Tenacious is stubbornly persisting and refusing to give up. Tending to keep a firm hold of something; clinging or adhering closely. Not readily relinquishing a position, principle, or course of action; Determined. Persisting in existence; not easily dispelled. Sticking together.

Persistent is to continue to exist by never-ceasing or refusing to stop. Not stubborn, just everlasting and doing what it takes.

Constant - Consistent - Look on the Brightside

Sink or Swim is a situation in which someone either must succeed by his or her own efforts or fail completely by giving up.

Coping means to invest own conscious effort, to solve personal and interpersonal problems, in order to try to master, minimize or tolerate stress and conflict. Addictions.

Fortitude is the strength of mind that enables one to endure adversity with courage.

Grit is having fortitude and determination. to have passion and perseverance for long-term and meaningful goals. It is the ability to persist in something you feel passionate about and persevere when you face obstacles. Grit is a positive, non-cognitive trait based on an individual's perseverance of effort combined with the passion for a particular long-term goal or end state (a powerful motivation to achieve an objective). This perseverance of effort promotes the overcoming of obstacles or challenges that lie on the path to accomplishment and serves as a driving force in achievement realization.

"He, who has a Why to live, can bear with almost any How. When we can no longer change our circumstances, we are challenged to change ourselves."

"Do not pray for an easy life, pray for the strength to endure a difficult life." - Bruce Lee

“If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.”- - Martin Luther King Jr.

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands in times of challenge and controversy." — Martin Luther King Jr.

Stoically is without showing one's feelings or complaining about pain or hardship. In a manner that endures pain and hardship without outwardly showing suffering or expressing complaint.

Stoicism is a means of understanding the natural state of things, and as a means of freeing oneself from emotional distress.

Serenity Prayer - Grant me the serenity to accept the things that I cannot change, and the courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.

Third Times a Charm means that if you failed something twice or attempted something twice, sometimes you can get lucky on the third try and succeed.

Insight is having a clear or deep perception of a situation and grasping the inner nature of things intuitively. A clear and often sudden understanding of a complex situation. Able to predict actions needed to take accurately.

Logos is a form of rhetoric in which the writer or speaker uses Logic as the main argument.

Realist is a person who accepts a situation as it is and is prepared to deal with it accordingly.

Optimism - Shit Happens

"sometimes the only way to know how far you can go is to go farther then you have ever gone before."

“One of the most important revelatory moments is when the client grasps that no one is coming. No one is coming to save me; no one is coming to make life right for me; no one is coming to solve my problems. If I don’t do something, nothing is going to get better. The dream of a rescuer who will deliver us may offer a kind of comfort, but it leaves us passive and powerless. We may feel if only I suffer long enough, if only I yearn desperately enough, somehow a miracle will happen, but this is the kind of self-deception one pays for with one’s life as it drains away into the abyss of unredeemable possibilities and irretrievable days, months, decades.” Nathaniel Branden, The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem.

Sometimes no matter what you do, and no matter what you say, and no matter what you think, some things will just happen. Mostly because you never learned how to stop something from happening. So you either learn to adapt or you will go extinct. And you better act now while you still can, because you can't do anything when you're dead, as far as we know, that is. You could pass on valuable knowledge and information if you preserve it. But you would have to do most of that work now while when you're alive. You also have to leave enough instructions. And you also need to be prepared for the worse.

Evolution - Small Changes Over a Long Time

Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. Evolutionary processes give rise to biodiversity at every level of biological organization, including the levels of species, individual organisms, and molecules.

Evolve is to undergo development or to learn through experience.

Coevolution occurs when changes in at least two species' genetic compositions reciprocally affect each other’s evolution.

Macroevolution is evolution on a scale at or above the level of species, in contrast with microevolution, which refers to smaller evolutionary changes of allele frequencies within a species or population. Macroevolution and microevolution describe fundamentally identical processes on different time scales.

Mutations - Devolve - Human Micro-Evolutionary Changes

Divergent is tending to move apart in different directions. Diverging from another or from a standard.

Divergent Evolution is the accumulation of differences between groups, leading to the formation of new species.

Convergent Evolution is the independent evolution of similar features in species of different lineages. Convergent evolution creates analogous structures that have similar form or function but were not present in the last common ancestor of those groups. The cladistic term for the same phenomenon is homoplasy. The recurrent evolution of flight is a classic example, as flying insects, birds, pterosaurs, and bats have independently evolved the useful capacity of flight. Functionally similar features that have arisen through convergent evolution are analogous, whereas homologous structures or traits have a common origin but can have dissimilar functions. Bird, bat, and pterosaur wings are analogous structures, but their forelimbs are homologous, sharing an ancestral state despite serving different functions.

Differentiated is to evolve so as to lead to a new species or develop in a way most suited to the environment. Become distinct and acquire a different character. Made different (especially in the course of development) or shown to be different. Exhibiting biological specialization; adapted during development to a specific function or environment. Become different during development or design.

Cichlids are found all over the world, mainly in Africa and Latin America, but they’re especially abundant in Lake Malawi, where they’ve diverged into at least 850 species. That’s more species of fish than can be found in all of the freshwater bodies of Europe combined.

Microevolution is the change in allele frequencies that occurs over a short period of time within a population. This change is due to four different processes: mutation, artificial selection or natural selection, gene flow, and genetic drift. This change happens over a relatively short period of time when compared to the changes termed macroevolution, which happen over a longer period of time and where greater differences in the population occur. Abiogenesis.

Evolutionary Biology is the subfield of biology that studies the evolutionary processes that produced the diversity of life on Earth starting from a single origin of life. These processes include the descent of species, and the origin of new species.

Adaptive Radiation is a process in which organisms diversify rapidly from an ancestral species into a multitude of new forms, particularly when a change in the environment makes new resources available, creates new challenges, or opens new environmental niches. Starting with a recent single ancestor, this process results in the speciation and phenotypic adaptation of an array of species exhibiting different morphological and physiological traits.

Biologists experimentally trigger adaptive radiation. Preening drives divergent camouflage in feather lice on both micro- and macro-evolutionary timescales.

Speciation is the evolutionary process by which biological populations evolve to become distinct species.

Human Evolution is the evolutionary process that led to the emergence of anatomically modern humans.

Humans may have not stemmed from a single ancestral population in one region of Africa. Our human ancestors were scattered across Africa, and largely kept apart by a combination of diverse habitats and shifting environmental boundaries, such as forests and deserts. Millennia of separation gave rise to a staggering diversity of human forms, whose mixing ultimately shaped our species.

Maturation is coming to full development or becoming biologically mature. The process of an individual organism growing organically. A purely biological unfolding of events involved in an organism changing gradually from a simple to a more complex level. Mental Maturity.

Devolution is the notion that species can revert into more primitive forms over time. Vestigiality is not being fully developed and has lost some or all of their ancestral function.

Devolve is to grow worse. Inadequate Education - Republicans.

Non-Human is any entity displaying some, but not enough, human characteristics to be considered a human. The term has been used in a variety of contexts and may refer to objects that have been developed with human intelligence, such as robots or vehicles.

Primitive is a person who belongs to an early stage of civilization or an earlier ancestral type who evolved very little. One who is without formal training and is simple or naive in style. Belonging to an early stage of technical development and characterized by simplicity.

Degeneration Theory is a fear that civilization might be in decline and that the causes of decline lay in biological change.

Dollo's law of irreversibility states that evolution is not reversible.

Natural Selection is the change in heritable traits of a population over time. Some life forms can adapt while other species die off. The differential survival and reproduction of individuals due to differences in phenotype. Variation exists within all populations of organisms. How do you know it's natural? Is a Mutation Natural? Is it Natural or Preprogrammed?

Why crocodiles have changed so little since the age of the dinosaurs. New research explains how a 'stop-start' pattern of evolution, governed by environmental change, could explain why crocodiles have changed so little since the age of the dinosaurs. New research suggests that their evolution speeds up when the climate is warmer, and that their body size increases. Versatility could be one explanation why crocodiles survived the meteor impact at the end of the Cretaceous period, in which the dinosaurs perished. Crocodiles generally thrive better in warm conditions because they cannot control their body temperature and require warmth from the environment. Crocodile are large semiaquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. Crocodylinae, all of whose members are considered true crocodiles, is classified as a biological subfamily. Crocodiles arisen some 200 million years ago, they have outlived the dinosaurs by some 65 million years. Although they appear similar, crocodiles, alligators and the gharial belong to separate biological families. Crocodile species have an average lifespan of at least 30–40 years, and in the case of larger species an average of 60–70 years.

Lungfish are freshwater rhipidistian fish belonging to the order Dipnoi. Lungfish are best known for retaining primitive characteristics within the Osteichthyes, including the ability to breathe air, and primitive structures within Sarcopterygii, including the presence of lobed fins with a well-developed internal skeleton. Through convergent evolution, lungfishes have evolved internal nostrils similar to the tetrapods' choana, and a brain with certain similarities to the lissamphibian brain (except for the Queensland lungfish, which branched off in its own direction about 277 million years ago and has a brain resembling that of the Latimeria). As lobe finned fish were adapting to live in partial water or on land, 420 million years ago during the Devonian, they seem to have split off into multiple groups. Two such branches are known to survive to the present day, the coelacanths and the lungfish. Lungfish are known to have the largest animal genome. Lungfish's genome is 43 billion base pairs long, which is around 14 times larger than the human genome. Lungfish have a highly specialized respiratory system. They have a distinct feature that their lungs are connected to the larynx and pharynx without a trachea. While other species of fish can breathe air using modified, vascularized gas bladders, these bladders are usually simple sacs, devoid of complex internal structure. In contrast, the lungs of lungfish are subdivided into numerous smaller air sacs, maximizing the surface area available for gas exchange.

Genetic variation gives mussels a chance to adapt to climate change. Existing genetic variation in natural populations of Mediterranean mussels allows them to adapt to declining pH levels in seawater caused by carbon emissions. Biologists show that mussels raised in a low pH experimental environment grew smaller shells than those grown at normal pH levels, but the overall survival rate of mussels grown under both conditions was the same. Genetic Variation is the difference in DNA among individuals. There are multiple sources of genetic variation, including mutation and genetic recombination.

Evidence that selection may also occur at the level of the epigenome -- a term that refers to an assortment of chemical 'annotations' to the genome that determine whether, when and to what extent genes are activated -- and has done so for tens of millions of years.

Scanning system in sperm may control rate of human evolution. Maturing sperm cells turn on most of their genes, not to follow their genetic instructions like normal, but instead to repair DNA before passing it to the next generation, a new study finds.

How new species arise in the sea. How can a species split into several new species if they still live close to each other and are able to interbreed?

Climbing Gourami possess a labyrinth organ, a structure in the fish's head which allows it to breathe atmospheric oxygen. Fish of this family are commonly seen gulping at air at the surface of the water. The air is held in a structure called the suprabranchial chamber, where oxygen diffuses into the bloodstream via the respiratory epithelium covering the labyrinth organ. This therefore allows the fish to move small distances across land. Anabas Testudineus species that can live without water for 6-10 days.

Cause and Effect - Pyramid of Complexity - Anthropology

Metamorphosis is the marked and rapid transformation of a larva into an adult that occurs in some animals. The process of transformation from an immature form to an adult form in two or more distinct stages in an insect or amphibian. A change of the form or nature of a thing or person into a completely different one. A striking change in appearance, character or circumstances or a complete change of physical form or substance. Metamorphosis is a biological process by which an animal physically develops after birth or hatching, involving a conspicuous and relatively abrupt change in the animal's body structure through cell growth and differentiation. Some insects, fishes, amphibians, mollusks, crustaceans, cnidarians, echinoderms, and tunicates undergo metamorphosis, which is often accompanied by a change of nutrition source or behavior. Animals can be divided into species that undergo complete metamorphosis ("holometaboly"), incomplete metamorphosis ("hemimetaboly"), or no metamorphosis ("ametaboly"). Scientific usage of the term is technically precise, and it is not applied to general aspects of cell growth, including rapid growth spurts. References to "metamorphosis" in mammals are imprecise and only colloquial, but historically idealist ideas of transformation and monadology, as in Goethe's Metamorphosis of Plants, have influenced the development of ideas of evolution. Resurrection Plant - Hibernation - Regenerate - Stem Cells.

Characteristics - Traits

Phenotype is the composite of an organism's observable characteristics or traits, such as its morphology, development, biochemical or physiological properties, phenology, behavior, and products of behavior (such as a bird's nest). A phenotype results from the expression of an organism's genes as well as the influence of environmental factors and the interactions between the two. When two or more clearly different phenotypes exist in the same population of a species, the species is called polymorph, which the occurrence of two or more clearly different morphs or forms, also referred to as alternative phenotypes, in the population of a species.

Phenotypic Trait is a distinct variant of a phenotypic characteristic of an organism; it may be either inherited or determined environmentally, but typically occurs as a combination of the two. For example, eye color is a character of an organism, while blue, brown and hazel are traits. Trait Theory.

Pedigree Chart is a diagram that shows the occurrence and appearance or phenotypes of a particular gene or organism and its ancestors from one generation to the next, most commonly humans, show dogs, and race horses.

Tree of Life - Biology Order

Species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. Other ways of defining species include their karyotype, DNA sequence, morphology, behaviour or ecological niche. In addition, paleontologists use the concept of the chronospecies since fossil reproduction cannot be examined. The total number of species is estimated to be between 8 and 8.7 million. However the vast majority of them are not studied or documented and it may take over 1000 years to fully catalogue them all. All species (except viruses) are given a two-part name, a "binomial". The first part of a binomial is the genus to which the species belongs. The second part is called the specific name or the specific epithet (in botanical nomenclature, also sometimes in zoological nomenclature). For example, Boa constrictor is one of four species of the genus Boa.

Genotype is the part (DNA sequence) of the genetic makeup of a cell, and therefore of an organism or individual, which determines a specific characteristic (phenotype) of that cell/organism/individual. Genotype is one of three factors that determine phenotype, the other two being inherited epigenetic factors, and non-inherited environmental factors.

Gene Pool is the set of all genes, or genetic information, in any population, usually of a particular species.

Genetic Drift is the change in the frequency of an existing gene variant (allele) in a population due to random sampling of organisms. The alleles in the offspring are a sample of those in the parents, and chance has a role in determining whether a given individual survives and reproduces. A population's allele frequency is the fraction of the copies of one gene that share a particular form. Genetic drift may cause gene variants to disappear completely and thereby reduce genetic variation.

Gene Flow is the transfer of genetic variation from one population to another. If the rate of gene flow is high enough, then two populations are considered to have equivalent genetic diversity and therefore effectively a single population. It has been shown that it takes only "One migrant per generation" to prevent population diverging due to drift. Gene flow is an important mechanism for transferring genetic diversity among populations. Migrants into or out of a population may result in a change in allele frequencies (the proportion of members carrying a particular variant of a gene), changing the distribution of genetic diversity within the populations. Immigration may also result in the addition of new genetic variants to the established gene pool of a particular species or population. High rates of gene flow can reduce the genetic differentiation between the two groups, increasing homogeneity. For this reason, gene flow has been thought to constrain speciation by combining the gene pools of the groups, and thus, preventing the development of differences in genetic variation that would have led to full speciation.

Genetic Variation means that biological systems – individuals and populations – are different over space. Each gene pool includes various alleles of genes. The variation occurs both within and among populations, supported by individual carriers of the variant genes.

Allele is a variant form of a given gene. Sometimes, different alleles can result in different observable phenotypic traits, such as different pigmentation. A good example of this trait of color variation is the work Gregor Mendel did with the white and purple flower colors in pea plants; discovering that each color was the result of a “pure line” trait which could be used as a control for future experiments. However, most genetic variations result in little or no observable variation.

Allele Frequency is the relative frequency of an allele (variant of a gene) at a particular locus in a population, expressed as a fraction or percentage. Specifically, it is the fraction of all chromosomes in the population that carry that allele. Microevolution is the change in allele frequencies that occurs over time within a population.

Taxonomy in biology is the science of defining and naming groups of biological organisms on the basis of shared characteristics. Organisms are grouped together into taxa (singular: taxon) and these groups are given a taxonomic rank; groups of a given rank can be aggregated to form a super group of higher rank, thus creating a taxonomic hierarchy. The Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus is regarded as the father of taxonomy, as he developed a system known as Linnaean classification for categorization of organisms and binomial nomenclature for naming organisms. With the advent of such fields of study as phylogenetics, cladistics, and systematics, the Linnaean system has progressed to a system of modern biological classification based on the evolutionary relationships between organisms, both living and extinct.

Taxon is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit.

Purebred are cultivated varieties or cultivars of an animal species, achieved through the process of selective breeding. When the lineage of a purebred animal is recorded, that animal is said to be pedigreed.

Bloodline are the descendants of one individual. Ancestry of a purebred animal.

Genetic Genealogy is the use of DNA testing in combination with traditional genealogy and traditional genealogical and historical records to infer relationships between individuals. Genetic genealogy involves the use of genealogical DNA testing to determine the level and type of the genetic relationship between individuals.

Phylogenetics is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among individuals or groups of organisms.

Genealogy also known as family history, is the study of families and the tracing of their lineages and history.

Lineage in anthropology is a unilineal descent group that can demonstrate their common descent from a known apical ancestor. Unilineal lineages can be matrilineal or patrilineal, depending on whether they are traced through mothers or fathers, respectively. Whether matrilineal or patrilineal descent is considered most significant differs from culture to culture.

Lineage in evolution is a series of organisms, populations, cells, or genes connected by a continuous line of descent from ancestor to descendent. Lineages are subsets of the evolutionary tree of life. Lineages are often determined by the techniques of molecular systematics.

Lineage in genetics is a series of mutations which connect an ancestral genetic type (allele, haplotype, or haplogroup) to derivative type.

Data Lineage includes the data's origins, what happens to it and where it moves over time.

Race in biology is an informal rank in the taxonomic hierarchy, below the level of subspecies. It has been used as a higher rank than strain, with several strains making up one race. Various definitions exist. Races may be genetically distinct phenotypic populations of interbreeding individuals within the same species, or they may be defined in other ways, e.g. geographically, or physiologically. Genetic isolation between races is not complete, but genetic differences may have accumulated that are not (yet) sufficient to separate species. Tree of Life.

Foundation Stock or foundation stock are animals that are the progenitors, or foundation, of a new breed (or crossbreed or hybrid), or of a given bloodline within such. Although usually applied to individual animals, a group of animals may be referred to collectively as foundation bloodstock when one distinct population (such a breed or a breed group) provides part of the underlying genetic base for a new distinct population.

Exaptation describes a shift in the function of a trait during evolution. For example, a trait can evolve because it served one particular function, but subsequently it may come to serve another. Exaptations are common in both anatomy and behaviour. Bird feathers are a classic example: initially they may have evolved for temperature regulation, but later were adapted for flight. Interest in exaptation relates to both the process and products of evolution: the process that creates complex traits and the products (functions, anatomical structures, biochemicals, etc.) that may be imperfectly developed

Co-option in biology refers to the capacity of intracellular parasites to use host-cell proteins to complete their vital cycle. Viruses use this mechanism, as their genome is small. It is also used in a different sense to refer to characters that have been exapted.

Teleology is the philosophical study of nature by attempting to describe things in terms of their apparent purpose, directive principle, or goal. A purpose that is imposed by a human use, such as that of a fork, is called extrinsic. Natural teleology, common in classical philosophy but controversial today, contends that natural entities also have intrinsic purposes, irrespective of human use or opinion. For instance, Aristotle claimed that an acorn's intrinsic telos is to become a fully grown oak tree.

Anomalistics is the use of scientific methods to evaluate anomalies (phenomena that fall outside of current understanding), with the aim of finding a rational explanation.

Evolutionary Psychology is a theoretical approach in the social and natural sciences that examines psychological structure from a modern evolutionary perspective. It seeks to identify which human psychological traits are evolved adaptations – that is, the functional products of natural selection or sexual selection in human evolution. Adaptationist thinking about physiological mechanisms, such as the heart, lungs, and immune system, is common in evolutionary biology. Some evolutionary psychologists apply the same thinking to psychology, arguing that the modularity of mind is similar to that of the body and with different modular adaptations serving different functions. Evolutionary psychologists argue that much of human behavior is the output of psychological adaptations that evolved to solve recurrent problems in human ancestral environments.

Timeline of the Universe and Earth

Homo Futurus -The Inside Story (youtube - 54 mins.)

Sphenoid Bone is an unpaired bone of the neurocranium. It is situated in the middle of the skull towards the front, in front of the temporal bone and the basilar part of the occipital bone. The sphenoid bone is one of the seven bones that articulate to form the orbit. Its shape somewhat resembles that of a butterfly or bat with its wings extended.

Regulator Gene is a gene involved in controlling the expression of one or more other genes. Regulatory sequences, which encode regulatory genes, are often 5' to the start site of transcription of the gene they regulate. In addition , these sequences can also be found 3' to the transcription start site. In both cases, whether the regulatory sequence occurs before (5') or after (3') the gene it regulates, the sequence is often many kilobases away from the transcription start site. A regulator gene may encode a protein, or it may work at the level of RNA, as in the case of genes encoding microRNAs. An example of a regulator gene is a gene that codes for a repressor protein that inhibits the activity of an operator gene (a gene which binds repressor proteins thus inhibiting the translation of RNA to protein via RNA polymerase).

Mutations - Alterations

Mutation is the permanent alteration of the nucleotide sequence of the genome of an organism, virus, or extrachromosomal DNA or other genetic elements. Mutations result from errors during DNA replication or other types of damage to DNA, which then may undergo error-prone repair (especially microhomology-mediated end joining), or cause an error during other forms of repair, or else may cause an error during replication (translesion synthesis). Mutations may also result from insertion or deletion of segments of DNA due to mobile genetic elements. Mutations may or may not produce discernible changes in the observable characteristics (phenotype) of an organism. Mutations play a part in both normal and abnormal biological processes including: evolution, cancer, and the development of the immune system, including junctional diversity.

Mutation in biology is an organism that has characteristics resulting from chromosomal alteration. Mutation in genetics is any event that changes genetic structure, or any alteration in the inherited nucleic acid sequence of the genotype of an organism.

Mutagenic is something capable of inducing mutation. Variables.

Mutagen is any agent physical or environmental that can induce a genetic mutation or can increase the rate of mutation.  Mutagen is a physical or chemical agent that changes the genetic material, usually DNA, of an organism and thus increases the frequency of mutations above the natural background level. As many mutations can cause cancer, mutagens are therefore also likely to be carcinogens, although not always necessarily so. All mutagens have characteristic mutational signatures with some chemicals becoming mutagenic through cellular processes. Not all mutations are caused by mutagens: so-called "spontaneous mutations" occur due to spontaneous hydrolysis, errors in DNA replication, repair and recombination.

Mutagenesis is a process by which the genetic information of an organism is changed, resulting in a mutation. It may occur spontaneously in nature, or as a result of exposure to mutagens. It can also be achieved experimentally using laboratory procedures. In nature mutagenesis can lead to cancer and various heritable diseases, but it is also a driving force of evolution.

Most random genetic mutations neither benefit nor harm an organism. They accumulate at a steady rate that reflects the amount of time that has passed since two living species had a common ancestor. In contrast, an acceleration in that rate in a particular part of the genome can reflect a positive selection for a mutation that helps an organism to survive and reproduce, which makes the mutation more likely to be passed on to future generations. Gene regulatory elements are often only a few nucleotides long, which makes estimating their acceleration rate particularly difficult from a statistical point of view. Why are mutations thought to be part of the evolutionary process? A mutation is an embedded option to modify an organism when adaptation is needed. Something's happen for a reason, and not everything is random. Though mutations are also mistakes and accidents, we can now correct these mistakes using crispr.

GMO - Epigenetics - Genetic Disorder

Mutation Rate is a measure of the rate at which various types of mutations occur over time. Mutation rates are typically given for a specific class of mutation, for instance point mutations, small or large scale insertions or deletions. The rate of substitutions can be further subdivided into a mutation spectrum which describes the influence of genetic context on the mutation rate.

Point Accepted Mutation is the replacement of a single amino acid in the primary structure of a protein with another single amino acid, which is accepted by the processes of natural selection.

Pure Nature Specials - Mutation - The Science of Survival (youtube)

Using deep learning to predict disease-associated mutations.

New brain cell-like nanodevices work together to identify mutations in viruses. These systems could potentially overcome computational hurdles faced by current digital technologies. Scientists have described a new nanodevice that acts almost identically to a brain cell. Furthermore, they have shown that these synthetic brain cells can be joined together to form intricate networks that can then solve problems in a brain-like manner.

The far-reaching effects of mutagens on human health. Mutagenic threats to a cell's subtle machinery may be far more widespread than previously appreciated. Scientists demonstrate that DNA mutation itself may represent only a fraction the health-related havoc caused by mutagens. The study highlights the ability of mutagenic compounds to also affect the process of transcription, during which a DNA sequence is converted (or transcribed) to mRNA, an intermediary stage preceding translation into protein. Mutagens can inflict damage to the DNA, which can later snowball when cells divide, and DNA replication multiplies these errors. Such mutations, if not corrected through DNA proofreading mechanisms, can be passed to subsequent generations and depending on the location at which they appear along the human DNA strand's three billion letter code may seriously impact health, in some cases, with lethal results. But even if repaired prior to replication, transiently damaged DNA can also interfere with transcription -- the process of producing RNA from a DNA sequence. This can happen when RNA polymerase, an enzyme that moves along a single strand of DNA, producing a complementary RNA strand, reads a mutated sequence of DNA, causing an error in the resulting RNA transcript. Because RNA transcripts are the templates for producing proteins, transcription errors can produce aberrant proteins harmful to health or terminate protein synthesis altogether. It is already known that even under the best of conditions, transcript error rates are orders of magnitude higher than those at the DNA level. While the existence of transcription errors has long been recognized, their quantification has been challenging. The new study describes a clever technique for ferreting out transcription errors caused by mutagens and separating these from experimental artifacts -- mutations caused during library preparation of RNA transcripts through processes of reverse-transcription and sequencing. The method described involves the use of massively parallel sequencing technology to identify only those errors in RNA sequence directly caused by the activity of a mutagen. The results demonstrate that at least some mutagenic compounds are potent sources of both genomic mutations and abundant transcription errors. The circular sequencing assay outlined in the study creates redundancies in the reverse-transcribed message, providing a means of proofreading the resultant linear DNA. In this way, researchers can confirm that the transcription errors observed are a result of the mutagen's effects on transcription and not an artifact of sample preparation. The DNA molecule has been shown to be particularly vulnerable to a class of mutagens known as alkylating agents. One of these, known as MNNG, was used to inflict transcriptional errors on the four study organisms. The effects observed were dose-dependent, with higher levels of mutagen causing a corresponding increase in transcriptional errors. Hidden mistakes may be costly to health. Transcription errors differ from mutations in the genome in at least one vital respect. While DNA replication during cell division acts to amplify mutations to the genome, transcription errors can accumulate in non-dividing cells, with a single mutated DNA template giving rise to multiple abnormal RNA transcripts. The full effects of these transcription errors on human health remain largely speculative because they have not been amenable to study until now. Using the new technique, researchers can mine the transcriptome -- the full library of a living cell's RNA transcripts, searching for errors caused by mutagens. While the new research offers hope for a more thorough understanding of the relationship between various mutagens and human health, it is also a cautionary tale. A preoccupation with mutational defects in DNA sequence may have blinded science to the potential effects of agents that result in transcription errors without leaving permanent traces in the genome. This fact raises the possibility that a broad range of environmental factors as well as chemicals and foods deemed safe for human consumption are in need of careful reevaluation based on their potential for producing transcriptional mutagenesis. Further, transcriptional errors in both dividing and non-dividing cell types are likely key players in the complex processes of physical aging and mental decline.

Junk DNA - Silent Mutations

Silent Mutation are mutations in DNA that do not have an observable effect on the organism's phenotype. They are a specific type of neutral mutation. The phrase silent mutation is often used interchangeably with the phrase synonymous mutation; however, synonymous mutations are not always silent, nor vice versa. Synonymous mutations can affect transcription, splicing, mRNA transport, and translation, any of which could alter phenotype, rendering the synonymous mutation non-silent. The substrate specificity of the tRNA to the rare codon can affect the timing of translation, and in turn the co-translational folding of the protein. This is reflected in the codon usage bias that is observed in many species. Mutations that cause the altered codon to produce an amino acid with similar functionality (e.g. a mutation producing leucine instead of isoleucine) are often classified as silent; if the properties of the amino acid are conserved, this mutation does not usually significantly affect protein function. Gene Silencing.

Pseudogene is a section of a chromosome that is an imperfect copy of a functional gene. sometimes referred to as zombie genes in the media, are segments of DNA that are related to real genes. Pseudogenes have lost at least some functionality, relative to the complete gene, in cellular gene expression or protein-coding ability. Pseudogenes often result from the accumulation of multiple mutations within a gene whose product is not required for the survival of the organism, but can also be caused by genomic copy number variation (CNV) where segments of 1+ kb are duplicated or deleted. Although not fully functional, pseudogenes may be functional, similar to other kinds of noncoding DNA, which can perform regulatory functions. The "pseudo" in "pseudogene" implies a variation in sequence relative to the parent coding gene, but does not necessarily indicate pseudo-function. Despite being non-coding, many pseudogenes have important roles in normal physiology and abnormal pathology. Although some pseudogenes do not have introns or promoters (such pseudogenes are copied from messenger RNA and incorporated into the chromosome, and are called "processed pseudogenes"), others have some gene-like features such as promoters, CpG islands, and splice sites. They are different from normal genes due to either a lack of protein-coding ability resulting from a variety of disabling mutations (e.g. premature stop codons or frameshifts), a lack of transcription, or their inability to encode RNA (such as with ribosomal RNA pseudogenes). The term "pseudogene" was coined in 1977 by Jacq et al. Because pseudogenes were initially thought of as the last stop for genomic material that could be removed from the genome, they were often labeled as junk DNA. Nonetheless, pseudogenes contain biological and evolutionary histories within their sequences. This is due to a pseudogene's shared ancestry with a functional gene: in the same way that Darwin thought of two species as possibly having a shared common ancestry followed by millions of years of evolutionary divergence, a pseudogene and its associated functional gene also share a common ancestor and have diverged as separate genetic entities over millions of years.

Non-Coding DNA sequences are components of an organism's DNA that do not encode protein sequences. Some noncoding DNA is transcribed into functional non-coding RNA molecules (e.g. transfer RNA, ribosomal RNA, and regulatory RNAs). Other functions of noncoding DNA include the transcriptional and translational regulation of protein-coding sequences, scaffold attachment regions, origins of DNA replication, centromeres and telomeres.

Transposable Element or Jumping Gene is a DNA sequence that can change its position within a genome, sometimes creating or reversing mutations and altering the cell's genetic identity and genome size. Transposition often results in duplication of the same genetic material.

Spontaneous Gene Mutations - Mutation

Morphology in biology is the study of the form and structure of organisms and their specific structural features.

Genes - DNA - Traits - Heredity - Anomaly

DNA mutation is less frequent, less than 1%, where a SNP Mutation is more frequent.

Models of DNA Evolution describes the rates at which one nucleotide replaces another during evolution. These models are frequently used in molecular phylogenetic analyses. In particular, they are used during the calculation of likelihood of a tree (in Bayesian and maximum likelihood approaches to tree estimation) and they are used to estimate the evolutionary distance between sequences from the observed differences between the sequences.

A Mutational Timer is built into the Chemistry of DNA. DNA contains a kind of built-in timer that clocks the frequency with which mutations occur. They show that DNA bases can shape-shift for a thousandth of a second, transiently morphing into alternative states that allow the molecule's replication machinery to incorporate the wrong base pairs into its double heli.

Threshold Expression is a phenomenon in which phenotypic expression of a mitochondrial disease within an organ system occurs when the severity of the mutation, relative number of mutant mtDNA, and reliance of the organ system on oxidative phosphorylation combine in such a way that ATP production of the tissue falls below the level required by the tissue. The phenotype may be expressed even if the percentage of mutant mtDNA is below 50% if the mutation is severe enough.

Error Threshold is a limit on the number of base pairs a self-replicating molecule may have before mutation will destroy the information in subsequent generations of the molecule. The error threshold is crucial to understanding "Eigen's paradox". The error threshold is a concept in the origins of life (abiogenesis), in particular of very early life, before the advent of DNA. It is postulated that the first self-replicating molecules might have been small ribozyme-like RNA molecules. These molecules consist of strings of base pairs or "digits", and their order is a code that directs how the molecule interacts with its environment. All replication is subject to mutation error. During the replication process, each digit has a certain probability of being replaced by some other digit, which changes the way the molecule interacts with its environment, and may increase or decrease its fitness, or ability to reproduce, in that environment.

Synonymous Substitution is the evolutionary substitution of one base for another in an exon of a gene coding for a protein, such that the produced amino acid sequence is not modified. This is possible because the genetic code is "degenerate", meaning that some amino acids are coded for by more than one three-base-pair codon; since some of the codons for a given amino acid differ by just one base pair from others coding for the same amino acid, a mutation that replaces the "normal" base by one of the alternatives will result in incorporation of the same amino acid into the growing polypeptide chain when the gene is translated.

DNA is constantly subject to mutations and accidental changes in its code. Mutations can lead to missing or malformed proteins, and that can lead to disease.

Khan Academy: Different Types of Mutations (video) - DNA: Point mutations, frame shift mutation. Protein: Non-sense mutation, missense mutation. RNA: Conservative mutation, non-conservative mutation.

Irreducible Complexity is the argument that certain biological systems cannot evolve by successive small modifications to pre-existing functional systems through natural selection. Irreducible Complexity (youtube).

Genetic Variation - Genetic Drift - Epigenetics

Junctional Diversity describes the DNA sequence variations introduced by the improper joining of gene segments during the process of V(D)J recombination. This process of V(D)J recombination has vital roles for the vertebrate immune system, as it is able to generate a huge repertoire of different T-cell receptor (TCR) and immunoglobulin molecules required for pathogen antigen recognition by T-cells and B cells, respectively. The inaccuracies of joining provided by junctional diversity is estimated to triple the diversity initially generated by these V(D)J recombinations.

Genetic Recombination is the production of offspring with combinations of traits that differ from those found in either parent. In eukaryotes, genetic recombination during meiosis can lead to a novel set of genetic information that can be passed on from the parents to the offspring. Most recombination is naturally occurring.

Bifurcation is the division of something into two branches or parts. "You go that way and I will go this way".

Bifurcation Theory is the mathematical study of changes in the qualitative or topological structure of a given family, such as the integral curves of a family of vector fields, and the solutions of a family of differential equations. Most commonly applied to the mathematical study of dynamical systems, a bifurcation occurs when a small smooth change made to the parameter values (the bifurcation parameters) of a system causes a sudden 'qualitative' or topological change in its behavior.

Viruses revealed to be a major driver of human evolution. Study tracking protein adaptation over millions of years yields insights relevant to fighting today's viruses.

Atavism is an evolutionary throwback, such as traits reappearing that had disappeared generations before. Atavisms can occur in several ways. One way is when genes for previously existing phenotypical features are preserved in DNA, and these become expressed through a mutation that either knocks out the overriding genes for the new traits or makes the old traits override the new one. A number of traits can vary as a result of shortening of the fetal development of a trait (neoteny) or by prolongation of the same. In such a case, a shift in the time a trait is allowed to develop before it is fixed can bring forth an ancestral phenotype.

Coccyx commonly referred to as the tailbone, is the final segment of the vertebral column in humans and apes, and certain other mammals such as horses. In animals with bony tails, it is known as tailhead or dock, in bird anatomy as tailfan. It comprises three to five separate or fused coccygeal vertebrae below the sacrum, attached to the sacrum by a fibrocartilaginous joint, the sacrococcygeal symphysis, which permits limited movement between the sacrum and the coccyx.

Human Vestigiality involves those traits (such as organs or behaviors) occurring in humans that have lost all or most of their original function through evolution. Although structures called vestigial often appear functionless, a vestigial structure may retain lesser functions or develop minor new ones. In some cases, structures once identified as vestigial simply had an unrecognized function.

Chromosome 2 in humans is one of the 23 pairs of chromosomes in humans. People normally have two copies of this chromosome. Chromosome 2 is the second-largest human chromosome, spanning more than 242 million base pairs (the building material of DNA) and representing almost 8% of the total DNA in human cells.

DNA - Genes - Tree of Life

Biological Anthropology is a scientific discipline concerned with the biological and behavioral aspects of human beings, their related non-human primates and their extinct hominin ancestors. It is a subfield of anthropology that provides a biological perspective to the systematic study of human beings. Archaeology.

Bilateria are animals with bilateral symmetry, i.e., they have a head ("anterior") and a tail ("posterior") as well as a back ("dorsal") and a belly ("ventral"); therefore they also have a left side and a right side. In contrast, radially symmetrical animals like jellyfish have a topside and a downside, but no identifiable front or back.

UCLA Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
UC Museum of Paleontology - Understanding Evolution
European Human Behaviour and Evolution Association

"Yes, humans are still animals, but humans have an amazing brain, we either use it or we lose it, now that's evolution."

Human Evolution

Homo Sapiens is the binomial nomenclature or known scientific name for the only human species still in existence after 5.5 million years.

Human Body Knowledge - Evolution - Ages - Fossils

Anatomically Modern Human is used to distinguish anatomically modern homo sapiens from archaic humans such as Neanderthals and Middle and Lower Paleolithic hominins with transitional features intermediate between H. erectus, Neanderthals and early AMH called archaic homo sapiens.

Extant is something still in existence and not yet extinct, or destroyed or lost. Humanoid (robots).

Homo Erectus or upright man is still in existence species of hominid that lived throughout most of the Pleistocene geological epoch for the last 200,000 years.

Human are the only extant members of Hominina clade or human clade, a branch of the taxonomical tribe Hominini belonging to the family of great apes, or just sharing some of the same genes as apes and other living things.

Humans have Genes that will help them to Evolve during Interstellar Space Travel - Adapting.

2 Million Years Ago, early Humans were established and had split into at least 2 Species: Homo Habilis is a species of the tribe Hominini, during the Gelasian and early Calabrian stages of the Pleistocene period, which lived between roughly 2.1 and 1.5 million years ago. Homo Rudolfensis is an extinct species of the Hominini tribe known only through a handful of representative fossils, the first of which was discovered by Bernard Ngeneo, a member of a team led by anthropologist Richard Leakey and zoologist Meave Leakey in 1972, at Koobi Fora on the east side of Lake Rudolf (now Lake Turkana) in Kenya.

Neanderthals are the closest relatives in the Homo genus, they thrived for hundreds of thousands of years, only to die out about 40,000 years ago. "The theory is that no one wanted to marry a Neanderthal, so they went extinct."

Craniometry is measurement of the cranium (the main part of the skull), usually the human cranium. It is a subset of cephalometry, measurement of the head, which in humans is a subset of anthropometry, measurement of the human body. It is distinct from phrenology, the pseudoscience that tried to link personality and character to head shape, and physiognomy, which tried the same for facial features. However, these fields have all claimed the ability to predict traits or intelligence.

Brain Size indicates an average adult brain volume of 1260 cubic centimeters (cm3) for men and 1130 cm3 for women. There is, however, substantial variation; a study of 46 adults aged 22–49 years and of mainly European descent found an average brain volume of 1273.6 cm3 for men, ranging from 1052.9 to 1498.5 cm3, and 1131.1 cm3 for women, ranging from 974.9 to 1398.1 cm3. Homo habilis 550–687 cm3, Homo ergaster 700–900 cm3, Homo erectus 600–1250 cm3, Homo heidelbergensis 1100–1400 cm3, Homo neanderthalensis 1200–1750 cm3, Homo sapiens 1400 cm3. The human brain is roughly the size of two clenched fists and weighs about 1.5 kilograms. From the outside it looks a bit like a large walnut, with folds and crevices. Brain Atrophy.

Cephalic Index is the ratio of the maximum width (biparietal diameter or BPD, side to side) of the head of an organism (human or animal) multiplied by 100 divided by its maximum length (occipitofrontal diameter or OFD, front to back). The index is also used to categorize animals, especially dogs and cats.

ARHGAP11B is a human-specific gene which appeared after the divergence from chimpanzees. It amplifies basal progenitors, controls neural progenitor proliferation and can cause neocortex folding. It is capable of causing neocortex folding in mice. This likely reflects a role for ARHGAP11B in development and evolutionary expansion of the human neocortex, a conclusion consistent with the finding that the gene duplication that created ARHGAP11B occurred on the human lineage after the divergence from the chimpanzee lineage but before the divergence from Neanderthals. ARHGAP11B encodes 267 amino-acids and is a truncated version of ARHGAP11A. ARHGAP11B arose on the human evolutionary lineage after the divergence from the chimpanzee lineage by partial duplication of ARHGAP11A, which is found throughout the animal kingdom and encodes a Rho GTPase-activating-protein (RhoGAP domain). ARHGAP11B exists not only in present-day humans but also in Neandertals and Denisovans. ARHGAP11B comprises most of the GAP-domain (until lysine-220) followed by a novel C-terminal sequence but lacking the C-terminal 756 amino acids of ARHGAP11A. In contrast to full-length ARHGAP11A and ARHGAP11A 1-250, ARHGAP11B, like ARHGAP11A1-220, did not exhibit RhoGAP activity in a RhoA/Rho-kinase–based cell transfection assay. This indicates that the C-terminal 47 amino-acids of ARHGAP11B (after lysine-220) constitute not only a unique sequence, resulting from a frameshifting deletion, but also are functionally distinct from their counterpart in ARHGAP11A. In this assay, co-expression of ARHGAP11B along with ARHGAP11A did not inhibit the latter's RhoGAP activity. Since several genes involved in mental retardation encode proteins with RhoGAP domains or other proteins in the Rho signalling pathway it does not come as a complete surprise that ARHGAP11B is involved in neocortex folding; however, its precise function is still unknown. It has been reported that it is located in mitochondria where it binds to the adenine nucleotide translocator; it does not affect the adenine nucleotide exchange activity of the translocator, but it does lead to delayed opening of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore, thus allowing for greater sequestration of calcium. Furthermore, the presence of ARHGAP11B in the mitochondria boosts glutaminolysis, which is most likely due to the ability of mitochondria to sequester more calcium which activates mitochondrial matrix dehydrogenases in the citric acid cycle, particularly the oxoglutarate dehydrogenase complex. The Big Brain Bang?

Encephalization is defined as the amount of brain mass related to an animal's total body mass.

Scientists’ Brains Shrank a bit after 14 months in Antarctica. Animal studies have revealed that similar conditions can harm the hippocampus, a brain area crucial for memory and navigation. For example, rats are better at learning when the animals are housed with companions or in an enriched environment than when alone or in a bare cage. But whether this is true for a person’s brain is unknown. But there are good reasons to believe that this change is reversible. While the hippocampus is highly vulnerable to stressors like isolation, he says, it is also very responsive to stimulation that comes from a life filled with social interactions and a variety of landscapes to explore. A week in the dark rewires brain cell networks and changes hearing in adult mice.

How did Brains Evolve? - Intelligence - Devolution is what our current education system is doing.

Hominid Evolution (image) - Humans have 46 chromosomes, 2 less then the common potato. Everyone is 99.9% the same.

Chimpanzee Human last Common Ancestor is the last common ancestor shared by the extant Homo (human) and Pan (chimpanzee) genera of Hominini.

Richard Dawkins: Why are there still Chimpanzees? - Nebraska Vignettes #2 (youtube)
Richard Dawkins: Comparing the Human and Chimpanzee Genomes - Nebraska Vignettes #3 (youtube)

Discovery of Human Antiquity. The genus Homo is now estimated to be about 2.3 to 2.4 million years old.

Isochron Burial Dating uses Radioisotopes oldest hominid skeletons ever dated at 3.67 million years old.

Radionuclide is an atom that has excess nuclear energy, making it unstable. 

Hominidae are known as great apes or hominids, are a taxonomic family of primates that includes seven extant species in four genera: Pongo, the Bornean and Sumatran orangutan; Gorilla, the eastern and western gorilla; Pan, the common chimpanzee and the bonobo; and Homo, the human and near-human ancestors and relatives (e.g., the Neanderthals).

Archaic Humans in the period beginning 500,000 years ago (or 500ka). The period contemporary to and predating the emergence of the earliest anatomically modern humans (Homo sapiens) over 315 ka. The term typically includes Homo neanderthalensis (430+–38ka), Denisovans, Homo rhodesiensis (300ka–125ka), Homo heidelbergensis (600ka–200ka), and Homo antecessor.

Bonobo is an endangered great ape and one of the two species making up the genus Pan; the other is Pan troglodytes, or the common chimpanzee.

Denisovan is an extinct species or subspecies of human in the genus Homo. Pending its status as either species or subspecies it currently carries the temporary names Homo sp. Altai, or Homo sapiens ssp. Denisova. In March 2010, scientists announced the discovery of a finger bone fragment of a juvenile female who lived about 41,000 years ago, found in the remote Denisova Cave in the Altai Mountains in Siberia, a cave that has also been inhabited by Neanderthals and modern humans. The mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) of the finger bone showed it to be genetically distinct from Neanderthals and modern humans. The nuclear genome from this specimen suggested that Denisovans shared a common origin with Neanderthals, that they ranged from Siberia to Southeast Asia, and that they lived among and interbred with the ancestors of some modern humans, with about 3% to 5% of the DNA of Melanesians and Aboriginal Australians deriving from Denisovans.

Small populations are particularly vulnerable to the 'founder effect' in which the genetic composition of the founding population sets the stage for future generations, so the founding population's genetic composition must be carefully considered. Several anthropologists have suggested a minimum of 500 people would be needed to avoid genetic problems brought on by interbreeding, but Smith upped the safety factor to 2,000 residents to avoid a population collapse.

Founder Effect the reduced genetic diversity that results when a population is descended from a small number of colonizing ancestors. Incest is human sexual activity between family members or close relatives. This typically includes sexual activity between people in consanguinity (blood relations), and sometimes those related by affinity (marriage or stepfamily), adoption, clan, or lineage.

Homology is the existence of shared ancestry between a pair of structures, or genes, in different taxa.

Genetic Genealogy is the use of DNA testing in combination with traditional genealogy and traditional genealogical and historical records to infer relationships between individuals.

Primate arose from ancestors that lived in the trees of tropical forests; many primate characteristics represent adaptations to life in this challenging three-dimensional environment. Most primate species remain at least partly arboreal.

Mammal distinguished from reptiles and birds by the possession of a neocortex (a region of the brain), hair, three middle ear bones and mammary glands. Mammals include the largest animals on the planet, the great whales, as well as some of the most intelligent, such as elephants, primates and cetaceans.

Society - Human Studies (culture)

Louise Leakey Digs for Humanity's Origins (video)
A World Without Humans
Children of the Jaguar (Part 1/5) (youtube)

Recapitulation Theory is a largely discredited biological hypothesis that the development of the embryo of an animal, from fertilization to gestation or hatching (ontogeny), goes through stages resembling or representing successive stages in the evolution of the animal's remote ancestors (phylogeny).

“Change is not merely necessary to life - it is life.” - Alvin Toffler.

"Knowing what you're made out of does not explain how you were made....Knowing E=mc2 does not fully explain what energy is, or does it explain what matter is, or what light is. So what do we know?"

Yes we know animals evolve or adapt because we have evidence. But you can’t prove that new species evolve from other species. Why would a lizard want to evolve into a horse? And why didn't Dinosaurs eventually grow brains within 160 million years? Yes those are stupid questions, but that's where it all starts.

Cope's Rule postulates that population lineages tend to increase in body size over evolutionary time.

When something doesn't make sense it means you don't have all the information, so what's missing? Just because animals share the same Genes does not mean that one animal evolved from the other animal, it simply means that they share the same building blocks of Life. So what causes these little variations, like the variations we see in humans? Is it a combination of a Variable and a Fractal? Is evolution part Physics?

Evolution has a hard time proving Diversity or Variety.

Cambrian Explosion was the relatively short evolutionary event, beginning around 541 million years ago in the Cambrian period, during which most major animal phyla appeared, as indicated by the fossil record. Lasting for about the next 20–25 million years, it resulted in the divergence of most modern metazoan phyla. Additionally, the event was accompanied by major diversification of other organisms. Prior to the Cambrian explosion, most organisms were simple, composed of individual cells occasionally organized into colonies. Over the following 70 to 80 million years, the rate of diversification accelerated by an order of magnitude and the diversity of life began to resemble that of today. Almost all the present phyla appeared during this period, with the exception of Bryozoa, which made its earliest known appearance later, in the Lower Ordovician. The Cambrian marked a profound change in life on Earth; prior to the Cambrian, the majority of living organisms on the whole were small, unicellular and simple; the Precambrian Charnia being exceptional. Complex, multicellular organisms gradually became more common in the millions of years immediately preceding the Cambrian, but it was not until this period that mineralized—hence readily fossilized—organisms became common. The rapid diversification of lifeforms in the Cambrian, known as the Cambrian explosion, produced the first representatives of all modern animal phyla. Phylogenetic analysis has supported the view that during the Cambrian radiation, metazoa (animals) evolved monophyletically from a single common ancestor: flagellated colonial protists similar to modern choanoflagellates. Although diverse life forms prospered in the oceans, the land was comparatively barren—with nothing more complex than a microbial soil crust and a few molluscs that emerged to browse on the microbial biofilm. Most of the continents were probably dry and rocky due to a lack of vegetation. Shallow seas flanked the margins of several continents created during the breakup of the supercontinent Pannotia. The seas were relatively warm, and polar ice was absent for much of the period. Intelligent Design.

Why do we have some species staying the same for millions of years while other species in the same time period evolving or Adapting?

Freak of Nature

Something's just seem to appear out of no where, so where did they originate from? And somehow, even through mass extinctions, life still found a way to survive in some form. And after each mass extinction, life never returns in the same way that it was before. So it doesn't look like a normal process of life, it kind of looks like someone or something is trying something new, like some form of Intelligence trying to define itself. There are huge gaps of missing information. Both religious and non-religious people love to fill those gaps with their beliefs. But if I had a choice of filling the gap of missing information with something, I would rather say that it was God then to say that it was nothing. Not that I would, but I do understand why some people would say that. I mean, who would want to be considered just a freak of nature or just a random mutation? I'm either a lucky piece of sh*t or I'm here for a reason, I would like to believe that I'm here for a reason. If a belief stops you from learning, then it's not a good belief to hold. Being biased against new knowledge and new information leaves you vulnerable and reduces your ability to adapt and to make good decisions. I know that there is no guarantee of survival, but reducing my odds to live makes no sense at all.

I like to believe that Human Ascended instead of Descended. Our ancestors where the building blocks of life, not the origin of life. Abiogenesis.

Just because I have similar DNA that a monkey does, this does not make me a monkey or prove that I evolved from monkeys. Just because I have similar DNA that a potato does, this does not make me a potato. Just because we know everything is made up of atoms, we don't go around calling everything matter. We give things names to make language less confusing. Everything has common features, but they are not the same. You can have two hydrogen atoms and say they are the same because there is only two things that hydrogen atoms can have, one proton and one electron. But soon as you add together different atoms in different amounts, things are no longer the same.

Last Universal Ancestor (LUA), also called the last universal common ancestor (LUCA), cenancestor, or progenote, is the most recent organism from which all organisms now living on Earth have a common descent. Thus, it is the most recent common ancestor (MRCA) of all current life on Earth. As such, it should not be assumed to be the first living organism. The LUA is estimated to have lived some 3.5 to 3.8 billion years ago (sometime in the Paleoarchean era). The earliest evidence for life on Earth is biogenic graphite found in 3.7 billion-year-old metamorphized sedimentary rocks discovered in Western Greenland and microbial mat fossils found in 3.48 billion-year-old sandstone discovered in Western Australia. A study in 2015 found potentially biogenic carbon from 4.1 billion years ago in ancient rocks in Western Australia. Such findings would indicate the existence of different conditions on Earth during that period than what is generally assumed today and point to an earlier origination of life. In July 2016, scientists reported identifying a set of 355 genes from the Last Universal Common Ancestor (LUCA) of all life living on Earth.

Most Recent Common Ancestor (MRCA) of any set of organisms is the most recent individual from which all organisms in a group, for example a haplogroup, are directly descended. The term is often applied to human genealogy.

Just because you can’t explain something now, doesn’t mean that you never will. Believing you know the answer is different from actually knowing the answer. Plus we only have one planet that we know of where life exists. So from a science point of view, having only one example of life can never be hard evidence, and that this is just the normal process of life. To me this is a silly argument and I take no sides in this discussion. Both sides have good claims, good points and good theories. Even though this is a healthy discussion that needs more looking into, I can’t help to know that we have more important and more urgent problems that need to be addressed. This is a distraction, but we will come back to this, just not now.

Beck - Loser (youtube)

Adaptation can be dangerous, especially when you become adapted to something that is slowly killing you. Adaptation only buys you some time, it does not guarantee you survival. Only humans have the ability to over come this vulnerability, that's why we are here. So we can't f*ck this up, if we do, we're dead, like all other animal species before us. I don't want to become bacteria again, that would suck, it's not the life that I want, or want for anyone else.

Maybe evolution is just another form of consciousness, or some form of intelligence that we are unable to comprehend. Maybe evolution is Gods work? Who else could have figured out that the only way you can have a sustaining planet is to give plants and animals the ability to evolve, adapt and to flourish. If you don’t adapt you die. And that is exactly where humans are today. Evolution has given all of us some extremely valuable information that Cause and Effect is real and that Cause and Effect should not be ignored. Everyone should just stick with the facts. Evolution does not explain everything and Religion does not explain everything, so why are we so threatened by someone else's beliefs? As long as no one ever stops asking questions, no one should ever fear or feel threatened by other peoples beliefs. The most important thing is that we keep sharing information and keep documenting our world. You should never claim that you have all the answers. If you are stubborn and selfish with your beliefs then the message you are trying to convey will only distort information and confuse people into believing that there are no more questions to ask. And that is simply a crime against humanity. A good documentary to watch is War on Science. People are overreacting in this film but I understand their passion. Another example of people overreacting is in a film called “The Shape of Life” from PBS. This film has great information but it's kind of ruined because they pretend to know the answers of evolution. These are the kinds of things we need to stop doing if we are going to educate people and secure our species survival. A better film to watch is Miracle Planet. To me it seems that a single cell is intelligent life. How and why? I don't know.

Humans are 90% bacteria. So I guess if you want to survive on a planet you better find a way to have a symbiotic relationship with a planets natural life forms, life forms that have lived and survived on this planet for billions of years. I guess that is how we will survive on another planet, by finding out what has lived and survived there the longest, and then learn how to have a symbiotic relationship with those organisms.

So what's wrong with saying "I Don't Know", It's better than pretending to Know.

Teaching evolution is not bad, what's bad is how you teach evolution and how it's understood by people. The same thing with religion, teaching religion is not bad, it's how you teach Religion and how it's understood." If evolution is information evolving, and if God is information, then I guess you're both right.

This is just another Human Transition, maybe evolution and intelligent design are the same thing?....Can I go now?

You can't prove that God does not exist, or can you prove that God does exist. We should stick with the things that we can prove and save the things that we cannot prove for later time. Because if we don't solve our greatest problems, that we all face, we will never live to see God, or live to see if there isn't a God.

It is difficult to understand how anyone can believe that the Nervous System, particularly the brain, could have been produced by evolutionary randomness and selection. We have barely touched on some of the electrical design present in the rest of the body. The truth is that scientists are always discovering more about its workings, since its complexity, which far surpasses anything produced by man, is nothing short of a miracle. Truly we can say with David, “I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are marvelous and my soul knows it very well”  (Psalm 139:14). (Craig Savige)

Modern Humans

"Whether you believe that evolution or God designed our brain doesn't really matter, what matters is that you never ignore the human brains enormous potential, and its weaknesses. The knowledge that we have acquired about the human brain is invaluable. So knowing who or what made it will not be as important as learning how the brain works and learning how effectively we can use its power. So when we finally do figure out who or what made us, it will not come to us as some big surprise, because after all, we have brains."

"Thank God my brain is smarter then I am."

"God has reasons for doing things, and evolution has reasons too, and if God created evolution, then evolution can't be wrong."

"I couldn't even imagine being anything else but human. Human to me is the greatest way to experience life. And when we imagine what other life from other planets looks like, that makes me even prouder, because the human form to me is the most enjoyable machine a person could ever design. I couldn't even dream of a better human. Some people would say a human with wings, or a human with superman powers. But we already have those because of the machines that we will built."

If you didn't have what you needed to know what you were missing, then how would you evolve into it? I know information is some form of intelligence, what I don't know is how did information see when it didn't have what was needed to see what it didn't have?

I think that humans take for granted that our way of seeing through the eyes is the only form of sight.

"I'm the evolutionary result of a seed that was born thousands of years ago, and yet it feels like the first time being alive."

Some people believe that 10 million years ago that some of the monkeys changed their diet just enough to evolve into humans. Though I fully understand the importance of nutrition and how diet can improve appearance and health, I'm having a little trouble understanding just what nutritional substances can cause a species body to change and grow a better brain? I'm positive we can repeat this theory. We just need to start feeding monkeys better food and lets see what happens. Of course it will take many life times to see the results, but we should start seeing some changes, maybe Planet of the Apes?

Humanzee is a hypothetical chimpanzee/human hybrid. An unsuccessful attempt to breed such a hybrid was made by Ilya Ivanovich Ivanov in the 1920s. There have been occasional reports of human-chimpanzee hybridization, notably regarding a performing chimp named Oliver during the 1970s, but none of them have been confirmed. There has been what people think to be a sighting of a humanzee in July of 2012 in Colorado. Similarly, the possibility of a chimpanzee–gorilla hybrid, known as koolakamba, also remains unsubstantiated. Devolution.

We know the about the negative effects from a poor nutritional diet and isolation, children are smaller and less developed, just like early man. Does that mean that only a man can grow into man. Humans evolved from humans? This is like finding out that your father is not your real father. Welcome to the party.

Monkey Shines (youtube)
Project X (youtube)
Ilya Ivanovich Ivanov (wiki)

The World's Smartest Apes (youtube) - Chimpanzee, Gorilla, or Orangutan?

And since we have evidence and experience in knowing that some Miracles can actually be explained, we still have to keep trying to understand our world. We have enough evidence to prove that our increased understanding of the world has benefited us in many ways. Not to say that it was Perfect, But at least we are definitely more aware of our possibilities and of our human potential.

"It's not the strongest of species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most adaptable to change."

Charles Darwin was an English naturalist, geologist and biologist, best known for his contributions to the science of evolution. He believed that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestors. (12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882). Charles wrote the 1859 book the Origin of Species, which introduced the scientific theory that populations evolve over the course of generations through a process of natural selection. It presented a body of evidence that the diversity of life arose by common descent through a branching pattern of evolution. Darwin included evidence that he had gathered on the Beagle expedition in the 1830s and his subsequent findings from research, correspondence, and experimentation.

Michael Archer: How we'll Resurrect the Gastric Brooding Frog the Tasmanian Tiger (video)

People didn't have enough information and knowledge years ago that was needed in order to explain complex ideas and concepts. But now we do, and we can be more precise. Not that we can fully explain all knowledge correctly to all people, but at least we know now that the acquisition of more knowledge is always needed to further our understanding and also to help to explain knowledge so that more people can understand. The mistake that most people make is that they believed that all knowledge is known, so they make assumptions instead of realizing that more knowledge, information and research is needed. So not only do we have more knowledge and information today, we also have the intelligence to know that more knowledge and information is always needed. So we can now make less assumptions, make less mistakes, and we never assume that we know everything, thus we keep learning.

"I wouldn't want to assume that life started on this planet. I'm just saying that life had to start somewhere. Where and how, I don't know? But I hope we find out, because that would be an incredible story. We know that our galaxy was not the first galaxy born in our universe. So we may have brothers and sisters, some we may never know? But my guess is, that we will find our siblings, because everything usually leaves some kind of a trace."

Trace is a just detectable amount. An indication that something has been present. A visible mark (as a footprint) left by the passage of person or animal or vehicle. Discover traces of. Follow, discover, or ascertain the course of development of something. To go back over again. Pursue or chase relentlessly.

Detect is to discover or determine the existence, presence, or fact of.

Indication is a datum about some physical state that is presented to a user by a meter or similar instrument.

Intelligent Design

Intelligent Design is the view that certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not an undirected process such as natural selection. We can't say that "Things just happened Dude" or "This looks to amazing to be just some natural sequence of events, because first you would need to define what natural is, which you can't because this is everyone's first time here, thus, we have nothing to compare life to, nothing."...So we need to start over, this time everyone needs to have an open mind. Are we just one of the iterations in the process of development?

Contrived is something deliberately created rather than arising naturally or spontaneously.

Biogenesis is the production of new living organisms or organelles. The hypothesis of biogenesis, attributed to Louis Pasteur, states that complex living things come only from other living things, by reproduction (e.g. a spider lays eggs, which develop into spiders). That is, modern life does not arise from non-living material, which was the position held by spontaneous generation.

Morphogenesis is the biological process that causes an organism to develop its shape. Lab Grown - Creating Matter.

Star Trek III The Search for Spock (youtube)

Extra Terrestrial Life (space)

Terraforming is the process of deliberately modifying a planets atmosphere, temperature, surface topography or ecology to be similar to the environment of Earth to make it habitable by Earth-like life. (just as long as it has a magnetic field to hold in an atmosphere).

Bioforming is the opposite conception to terraforming. While terraforming requires the transformation of a celestial body (planet or moon) into a place where humans and other Earth-like life forms can exist, bioforming requires to transform us and other Earth-like bioforms into something that can survive on an untransformed planet. An intermediary concept is terrabioforming.

Planetary Engineering is the application of technology for the purpose of influencing the global environments of a planet. Its objectives usually involve increasing the habitability of other worlds or mitigating decreases in habitability to Earth. Perhaps the best-known type of planetary engineering is terraforming, by which a planet's surface conditions are altered to be more like those of Earth. Planetary engineering is largely the realm of science fiction at present, although recent climate change on Earth shows that human technology can cause change on a global scale.

Paraterraforming involves the construction of a habitable enclosure on a planet which eventually grows to encompass most of the planet's usable area. The enclosure would consist of a transparent roof held one or more kilometers above the surface, pressurized with a breathable atmosphere, and anchored with tension towers and cables at regular intervals. Proponents claim worldhouses can be constructed with technology known since the 1960s. The Biosphere 2 project built a dome on Earth that contained a habitable environment. The project encountered difficulties in operation, including unexpected population explosions of some plants and animals, and a lower than anticipated production of oxygen by plants, requiring extra oxygen to be pumped in. i(also known as the "worldhouse" concept, or domes in smaller versions).

Megascale Engineering is a form of exploratory engineering concerned with the construction of structures on an enormous scale. Typically these structures are at least 1,000 kilometers in length—in other words, at least 1 megameter, hence the name. Such large-scale structures are termed megastructures. In addition to large-scale structures, megascale engineering is also defined as including the transformation of entire planets into a human-habitable environment, a process known as terraforming or planetary engineering. This might also include transformation of the surface conditions, changes in the planetary orbit, and structures in orbit intended to modify the energy balance. Astroengineering is the extension of megascale engineering to megastructures on a stellar scale or larger, such as Dyson spheres, Ringworlds, and Alderson disks. (macro-engineering).

Geo-Engineering (global warming)

Genesis is coming into being. The origin or mode of formation of something. The beginning of creation.

Exogenesis or Panspermia, is the hypothesis that life exists throughout the Universe, distributed by meteoroids, asteroids, comets, planetoids, and also by spacecraft in the form of unintended contamination by microorganisms. Panspermia is a hypothesis proposing that microscopic life forms that can survive the effects of space, such as extremophiles, become trapped in debris that is ejected into space after collisions between planets and small Solar System bodies that harbor life. Some organisms may travel dormant for an extended amount of time before colliding randomly with other planets or intermingling with protoplanetary disks. If met with ideal conditions on a new planet's surfaces, the organisms become active and the process of evolution begins. Panspermia is not meant to address how life began, just the method that may cause its distribution in the Universe. Extremophiles.

Knowledge Preservation

Astrobiology is the study of the origin, evolution, distribution, and future of Life in the universe: extraterrestrial life and life on Earth. Astrobiology addresses the question of whether life exists beyond Earth, and how humans can detect it if it does (the term exobiology is similar but more specific—it covers the search for life beyond Earth, and the effects of extraterrestrial environments on living things.

Anthropic Principle is a philosophical consideration that observations of the universe must be compatible with the conscious and sapient life that observes it. Some proponents of the anthropic principle reason that it explains why this universe has the age and the fundamental physical constants necessary to accommodate conscious life. As a result, they believe it is unremarkable that this universe has fundamental constants that happen to fall within the narrow range thought to be compatible with life. The strong anthropic principle states that this is all the case because the universe is in some sense compelled to eventually have conscious and sapient life emerge within it. The weak anthropic principle states that the universe's ostensible fine tuning is the result of selection bias (specifically survivor bias): i.e., only in a universe capable of eventually supporting life will there be living beings capable of observing and reflecting on the matter.

Cosmological Constant fine-tuned to 120 decimal places. Symmetry.

Cellular Automaton is a discrete model studied in computability theory, mathematics, physics, complexity science, theoretical biology and microstructure modeling. A cellular automaton consists of a regular grid of cells, each in one of a finite number of states, such as on and off (in contrast to a coupled map lattice). The grid can be in any finite number of dimensions. For each cell, a set of cells called its neighborhood is defined relative to the specified cell. An initial state (time t = 0) is selected by assigning a state for each cell. A new generation is created (advancing t by 1), according to some fixed rule (generally, a mathematical function) that determines the new state of each cell in terms of the current state of the cell and the states of the cells in its neighborhood. Typically, the rule for updating the state of cells is the same for each cell and does not change over time, and is applied to the whole grid simultaneously, though exceptions are known, such as the stochastic cellular automaton and asynchronous cellular automaton.

Conway's Game of Life is a cellular automaton devised by the British mathematician John Horton Conway in 1970. The "game" is a zero-player game, meaning that its evolution is determined by its initial state, requiring no further input. One interacts with the Game of Life by creating an initial configuration and observing how it evolves, or, for advanced "players", by creating patterns with particular properties. The universe of the Game of Life is an infinite two-dimensional orthogonal grid of square cells, each of which is in one of two possible states, alive or dead, or "populated" or "unpopulated". Every cell interacts with its eight neighbours, which are the cells that are horizontally, vertically, or diagonally adjacent. At each step in time, the following transitions occur: Any live cell with fewer than two live neighbours dies, as if caused by underpopulation. Any live cell with two or three live neighbours lives on to the next generation. Any live cell with more than three live neighbours dies, as if by overpopulation. Any dead cell with exactly three live neighbours becomes a live cell, as if by reproduction. The initial pattern constitutes the seed of the system. The first generation is created by applying the above rules simultaneously to every cell in the seed—births and deaths occur simultaneously, and the discrete moment at which this happens is sometimes called a tick (in other words, each generation is a pure function of the preceding one). The rules continue to be applied repeatedly to create further generations.

Zero-Player Game is a game that has no sentient players. In computer games, the term refers to programs that use artificial intelligence rather than human players. Virtual Reality.

Ryle's Regress is a belief of a "Two-Worlds Story," or the "Double-Life Legend", which requires intelligent acts to be the product of the conscious application of mental rules. According to the legend, whenever an agent does anything intelligently, his act is preceded and steered by another internal act of considering a regulative proposition appropriate to his practical problem.

Creationism is the religious belief that the universe and Life originated "from specific acts of divine creation," as opposed to the scientific reasons that they came about through natural processes.

We can't say that we are the only creation of god, because there are millions of other types of life forms on the planet. And in the last 500 million years, over 90% of all life forms has gone extinct. And even in 2019, 100's of species are still going extinct every single day. You can say that God has a plan, but you can easily say that God is still learning. And maybe God is deciding if humans should go extinct too, just like the millions of other life forms that God let disappear since the beginning of Earth. So if humans don't start learning to live more ethically and sustainably, God will see no reason to save us from our own self inflicted extinction.

Something Out of Nothing

Anthropogenesis is the evolution or genesis of the human race. Is life a coincidence or a freak of nature or is it planned?

Abiogenesis is believed to be the origin of life, a natural process by which life arises from non-living matter, such as simple organic compounds. It is thought to have occurred on Earth between 3.8 and 4.1 billion years ago. Abiogenesis is studied through a combination of laboratory experiments and extrapolation from the characteristics of modern organisms, and aims to determine how pre-life chemical reactions gave rise to life on Earth. (good luck with that).

Abiotic is something that is non-living and not organic and does not have involving biological processes.

Inorganic Matter is something lacking the properties characteristic of living organisms. Not consisting of or deriving from living matter.

Inanimate Matter is something not endowed with life. Appearing dead or not breathing or having no perceptible pulse. Non-Living Material.

Spontaneous Generation is an obsolete body of thought on the ordinary formation of living organisms without descent from similar organisms. Typically, the idea was that certain forms such as fleas could arise from inanimate matter such as dust, or that maggots could arise from dead flesh. A variant idea was that of equivocal generation, in which species such as tapeworms arose from unrelated living organisms, now understood to be their hosts. Doctrines supporting such processes of generation held that these processes are commonplace and regular. Such ideas are in contradiction to that of univocal generation: effectively exclusive reproduction from genetically related parent(s), generally of the same species.

RNA World is a hypothetical stage in the evolutionary history of life on Earth, in which self-replicating RNA molecules proliferated before the evolution of DNA and proteins. The term also refers to the hypothesis that posits the existence of this stage.

Self-Replication is any behavior of a dynamical system that yields construction of an identical copy of itself. Biological Cells, given suitable environments, reproduce by cell division. During cell division, DNA is replicated and can be transmitted to offspring during reproduction. Biological viruses can replicate, but only by commandeering the reproductive machinery of cells through a process of infection. Harmful prion proteins can replicate by converting normal proteins into rogue forms.

Self-Organization is a process where some form of overall order arises from local interactions between parts of an initially disordered system. The process is spontaneous, not needing control by any external agent. It is often triggered by random fluctuations, amplified by positive feedback. The resulting organization is wholly decentralized, distributed over all the components of the system. As such, the organization is typically robust and able to survive or self-repair substantial perturbation. Chaos theory discusses self-organization in terms of islands of predictability in a sea of chaotic unpredictability. Self-organization occurs in many physical, chemical, biological, robotic, and cognitive systems. Examples can be found in crystallization, thermal convection of fluids, chemical oscillation, animal swarming, and artificial and biological neural networks. Nothing configures itself or learns on its own. Something's have to be present and available. Self-organizing is also called spontaneous order in the social sciences.

Self-Assembly is a process in which a disordered system of pre-existing components forms an organized structure or pattern as a consequence of specific, local interactions among the components themselves, without external direction. When the constitutive components are molecules, the process is termed molecular self-assembly. Self-assembly can be classified as either static or dynamic. In static self-assembly, the ordered state forms as a system approaches equilibrium, reducing its free energy. However, in dynamic self-assembly, patterns of pre-existing components organized by specific local interactions are not commonly described as "self-assembled" by scientists in the associated disciplines. These structures are better described as "self-organized".

Spontaneous Order is the spontaneous emergence of order out of seeming chaos. It is a process in social networks including economics, though the term "self-organization" is more often used for physical changes and biological processes, while "spontaneous order" is typically used to describe the emergence of various kinds of social orders from a combination of self-interested individuals who are not intentionally trying to create order through planning. Naturalists often point to the inherent "watch-like" precision of uncultivated ecosystems and to the universe itself as ultimate examples of this phenomenon. Hard Sciences.

I would not assume that emergence from random chaos is the result of self assembly or self organizing, especially when knowing about the laws of physics. Atoms are preprogramed to react in certain ways. So when they self assemble under particular conditions, atoms are just doing what they have been programed to do, which I assume is by design, I mean, why else would you make atoms if you didn't know how to control them? We can modify the program in atoms on small scales, but we can't make atoms from scratch. You have to have something to start something, so where did this something come from? And you wonder why so many people believe in God. We can say that atoms are a gift from a secret admire. So we should respect this gift, it is literally the gift that keeps on giving. Though we may never know our gifter, one thing is for sure, we have thy gift, and thy gift is our connection to thou gifter.

"To say that things self-organize is to say that you have no idea why these things organized the way they did. It's like if you never knew what a computer was and you saw computer programs running, you would assume that they were doing things all by themselves. And then some dude shows up and says, what came first, the computer program or the computer?"

Artificial Magnetic Shield Could Help In Terraforming Mars (PDF)
Community Coordinated Modeling Center
Universities Space Research Association

Lazarus Taxon is a taxon that disappears for one or more periods from the fossil record, only to appear again later. Likewise in conservation biology and ecology, it can refer to species or populations that were thought to be extinct, and are rediscovered. The term refers to the story in the Christian biblical Gospel of John, in which Jesus Christ raised Lazarus from the dead.

Taxonomy (phenotype)

Endemism is the ecological state of a species being unique to a defined geographic location, such as an island, nation, country or other defined zone, or habitat type; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. The extreme opposite of endemism is cosmopolitan distribution. An alternative term for a species that is endemic is precinctive, which applies to species (and subspecific categories) that are restricted to a defined geographical area.

God gave our DNA the instructions that's were needed for our bodies to survive in our Environment. God also gave us all the tools necessary to live in our environment sustainably and humanely. The only thing that God did not give us was Human Knowledge and the instructions that are needed to use knowledge effectively and efficiently. God gave us a brain, but God did not tell us how to use it. Just like babies, we need our mother to survive until we learn how to survive on our own. And sometimes, if you don't learn the hard way, you may never learn at all. We need to make God proud of us.

The Spark of Life - Life started with a Spark - Spark is to cause something to start and to put something in motion. To provoke or initiate a device, reaction or circuit. A joy expressed by a brightness, gleam or by animation of explicit approval from a human face.

Life is not a Process of Evolution, Evolution is a Process of Life

First comes life then comes evolution. Evolution does not create life. Life creates evolution. How did life get here? Is there another dimension or invisible landscape that allows life to travel any where in the universe? Life may sense where life can exist, so life goes to that planet and adapts to the environment of that planet, so that life can evolve and develop using the chemical building blocks that are available. There can only be life where life has existed before. What came first, the chicken or the egg? Neither. Neither the chicken nor the egg came first. They came at the same time. Something made something similar to a chicken that was designed to lay an egg and then that thing had an egg, which then grew into a chicken. Of course we may never know where life truly originated from. Life certainly did not originate from this planet. Our planet was not the first planet to support life or will it be the last planet to support life.

Convergent Evolution - Divergent Evolution

Are Humans Special? Yes. Are Humans Unique? Yes. Are other Animals Special? Yes. Are other Animals Unique? Yes. Are Humans Vulnerable to Extinction? Yes. But humans may not be as vulnerable as other animals, but there are other animals that could be more adaptable than humans. Humans special uniqueness is definitely a benefit, but only as long as we use our special uniqueness in an intelligent way. I would not say that Humans are better than other animals, humans just have more potential in certain areas. You're special when you do special things. So being special is a responsibility that you must prove in order to be worthy of such special unique traits. Life needed The Human Option. Not just to adapt ourselves to the environment, but to adapt the environment to ourselves and to other life forms on this planet that we need to live. But this manual option has its own vulnerabilities and flaws, because choices and options are only good when you make the right choices. It seems that planet earth is counting on humans to live up to their potential, if not, then humans may never live again, just like millions of other species have done in the history of our earth.

Iteration - Development

The Universe Looks like One Big Experiment. The Universe looks like someone had an idea about how they wanted to create a universe, and then experimented and learned along the way to find out which processes work the best. Earth seems to be the only successful result that we know of from all those different experiments that the universe is still currently experimenting with. And Human Society is also another big experiment. On earth we have diseases, wars, crimes and lots of natural disasters. You can't say that all those horrible things that happen to people are by design or from God. No one in their right mind would design a world like that on purpose, so it must be the current limits of our reality, a set of rules that we must learn to understand and work within. So maybe all these things that kill life are all part of the process of learning and trying to figure out how to make life flourish. Life is trying to figure out what works best. So of course we still have some work to do, and so does God. And I would rather help God succeed then work against God. I really think that God is on to something. Intelligent design is work in progress. So this is more about persistence. And Persistence is something that humans are born with. Look at any child and you can see the human spirit is alive and well. Life is a work in progress, it's not all by design or from evolution, but by will. And we will survive.

I Will Survive - Gloria Gaynor (1978) - This song is about how she no longer needs ignorance in her life. So the man she sings about represents ignorance. (I'll be fine when I finally get rid of your dumb ass).

The Universe is Not Perfect or Finely Tuned. The Universe can be chaotic at times. Stars exploding, planets dying, radiation, climate change, asteroids and mass extinctions. But the Universe does have some consistencies, stabilities and order, most likely by design, why else? Something's have to last for a certain amount of time, if not, then we would not be here. Is Chaos also by Design? Or is it just Meaningful Coincidences? The fact is that nothing lasts forever. Though Atoms do last for an extremely long time that seems to be forever, (10^35 years). Planets and stars do have limited life spans on the average of around 10 billion years, which seems to be plenty of time to enjoy Life, and also, plenty of time to find a new home when that time comes.

The universe is about development. And earth and humans is just one of millions of steps in that development. But earth and humans are making a big step, because now we know about entropy. once you lose the knowledge to see things, you have to start all over again with almost nothing. This can be good or bad, but you don't have a choice, or do you? A glimmer of hope says what if? What if there was an option? An option that the universe was built to except. So now you know, there is a direction that can't be stopped, because the universe is all about development. Though the last 100,000 years of human development seemed extremely slow, we can clearly see we are getting up to speed. Don't think about the years lost, think about the years gained. We are going much faster now.

What does Life need in order to exist? A Creator, Space, Atoms, Electricity and Magnetism, Heat and Cold, Light and Dark, Environment, Chemical Reactions, Molecules, DNA, Cells, Metabolism, Reproduction, Adaptation, Time perception and Some Luck.

Cells

Cells are the basic structural and functional unit of all organisms. A cell is the smallest unit of life. Cells are often called the Building Blocks of Life. Cells may exist as independent units of life such as in monads, or cells may form colonies or tissues as in higher plants and animals. In humans, there are about 240 Different Types of Cells, and within these cells there are about 20 different types of structures or organelles. The human body is made up of trillions and trillions cells. And of those trillions of cells, there are hundreds of different types, each with its own specific function, from forming your tissue and organs to reproduction and fighting off infections. They provide structure for the body, take in nutrients, and create energy. Basically, it’s all about the cell. A cell is made of molecules and a molecule is made of atoms. A cell has around 10 Trillion to 100 Trillion Atoms. The number of molecules in a typical human cell is somewhere between 5 million and 2 trillion. The number of cells in the human body is estimated to be about the same as the number of atoms in a human cell. There around 50-75 Trillion Cells in the Human Body. (that's a 5 followed by 13 zeroes). If you have 50 trillion cells in the human body with each cell having around 500 trillion atoms, then the human body is made up of around 2,500 trillion atoms or over 2 quadrillion atoms.

Cells Poster (image) - The Cell Map - Cellular Level (PDF)

Cells (youtube) - The Cell (youtube) - The Human Cell (youtube)

Cell Types Database - Biology - Organisms - Multi-Cell - Signals

Almost every Cell in the Human Body gets Replaced Every 7 to 10 Years - Atoms Too.

Human Cell Atlas - comprehensive reference maps of all human cells. Bacteria Cells have a different type of DNA.

The Next Software Revolution: Life: Andrew Hessel (youtube)

Blood Cells (heart) - Stem Cells (regeneration) - T-Cells

The largest cell in the human body is the Female Egg, and the smallest cell is the Male Sperm, 500 Million from Ejaculation.

Immune System Cells - Cells and Longevity

Cells have Memory. New research provides evidence that some molecular interactions on cell surfaces may have a "memory" that affects their future interactions. The report could lead to a re-examination of results from certain single-molecule research.

Building Blocks of Life - Tiny Machines

Extracellular Matrix is a collection of extracellular molecules secreted by cells that provides structural and biochemical support to the surrounding cells.

Extracellular is located or occurring outside a cell or cells. Bones - Skin - Bleeding.

Cell Biology is the basic structural, functional, and biological unit of all known living organisms. A cell is the smallest unit of life that can replicate independently, and cells are often called the "Building Blocks of Life". The study of cells is called Cell Biology. Cells consist of cytoplasm enclosed within a membrane, which contains many biomolecules such as proteins and nucleic acids. Organisms can be classified as unicellular (consisting of a single cell; including bacteria) or multicellular (including plants and animals). While the number of cells in plants and animals varies from species to species, humans contain more than 10 trillion (1012) cells. Most plant and animal cells are visible only under a microscope, with dimensions between 1 and 100 micrometres.

Cell Physiology is the biological study about the activities that take place in a cell to keep it alive, like nutrition, environmental response, cell growth, cell division, reproduction and differentiation.

When a Human Cell Develops, What are the Atoms or the Molecules that a Cell needs to Grow? The various elements that make up the cell are: 59% Hydrogen (H) - 24% Oxygen (O) - 11% Carbon (C) - 4% Nitrogen (N) - 2% Others - Phosphorus (P), Sulphur (S), etc. All life on Earth is built from four different types of molecules. These four types of molecules are often referred to as the molecules of life. The four molecules of life are proteins, carbohydrates, lipids and nucleic acids. Each of the four groups is vital for every single organism on Earth. Without any of these four molecules, a cell and organism would not be able to live. All of the four molecules of life are important either structurally or functionally for cells and, in most cases, they are important in both ways. Watch a Single Cell become a Complete Organism in Six Pulsing Minutes of Time-Lapse. A film by Jan van IJken (vimeo).

Proteins are the first of the molecules of life and they are really the Building Blocks of Life. Proteins are the most common molecules found in cells. If all the water is removed from a cell, proteins make up more than half of the remaining weight. Protein molecules are involved in a range of aspects of a cell’s biology. They come in a huge variety of forms and perform a massive range of functions. They are involved in muscle movement, storage of energy, digestion, immune defense and much more. The primary structure of a protein is a long chain made of many smaller molecules called amino acids. There are 20 different amino acids that are used to build proteins. The different amino acids can be arranged into trillions of different sequences that each creates a unique protein. The long chain of amino acids twists and folds on itself to produce the final shape of a protein. Amino acids contain nitrogen. Nitrogen-based compounds are an essential part of the diet of all organism so they can produce new proteins for their cells. This is why farmers often add nitrogen-based fertilizers to help their crops grow and why it is important for humans to eat foods that contain proteins. The cell makes proteins based on a process called protein synthesis. During protein synthesis, the cell uses information from a gene on a chromosome to produce a specific protein. Transfer RNA carries amino acids to the ribosome and adds them to the ribosome and adds them to the growing protein.

Carbohydrates are an important source of energy. They also provide structural support for cells and help with communication between cells. A carbohydrate molecule is made of atoms of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, e.g. glucose, with a ratio of two hydrogen's for every oxygen atom. They are found in the form of either a sugar or many sugars linked together. A single sugar molecule is known as a monosaccharide. Two sugar molecules bonded together is a disaccharide and many sugar molecules make a polysaccharide. The three different types of carbohydrates are all important for different reasons. Carbohydrates are the most important sources of energy for many organisms. Plants use the sun’s energy to convert CO2 into carbohydrates. The energy of these carbohydrates later allows plants to grow and reproduce. Many organisms have what is known as a cell wall that surrounds their cell. The cell walls of plants and fungi are made from carbohydrates. Cell walls provide important protection for the cells of plants and fungi. The carbohydrates are the compounds which provide energy to living cells. The carbohydrates we use as foods have their origin in the photosynthesis of plants. They take the form of sugars, starches, and cellulose. Carbohydrates can be found in several places in the cell including the cell membrane which is composed of a bilipid layer of proteins and carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are attached to proteins and lipids on the outer bilipid layer.

Lipids are a highly variable group of molecules that include fats, oils, waxes and some steroids. These molecules are made mostly from chains of carbon and hydrogen called fatty acids. Fatty acids bond to a range of other types of atoms to form many different lipids. Cells require lipids for a number of reasons. Probably the most important role of lipids is the main component of cell membranes. A type of lipid called a phospholipid is the primary molecule found in the membranes of cells. Other important functions lipids have include insulation of heat, storing energy, protection and cellular communication. The importance of these various functions is why lipids are classed as one of the four molecules of life. Almost all lipids are insoluble in water. The structure of lipid molecules means they are repelled by water. This is why oils and fats form globules in water and why the vinegar and oil of vinaigrette separate if the mixture is left for a while. lipid are made up of a glycerol molecule with three fatty acid molecules attached to it. Phospholipids form membranes. They are made of fatty acid where the glycerol is attached to the acyle chain and in some case to other compounds/elements. Lipids make all cell membranes, and they are stored in oil bodies in oily seeds. Lipids have high energy content and require high energy input too when produced. Lipids comprise a group of naturally occurring molecules that include fats, waxes, sterols, fat-soluble vitamins (such as vitamins A, D, E, and K), monoglycerides, diglycerides, triglycerides, phospholipids, and others. The main biological functions of lipids include storing energy, signaling, and acting as structural components of cell membranes.

Nucleic Acids. There are two types of nucleic acids that are essential to all life. These are DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) and RNA (ribonucleic acid). DNA is a very well-known type of molecule that makes up the genetic material of a cell. DNA is responsible for carrying all the information an organism needs to survive, grow and reproduce. RNA is a lesser-known molecule but it also plays an important role in cells. RNA molecules are used to translate the information stored in DNA molecules and use the information to help build proteins. Without RNA, the information in DNA would be useless. Nucleic acids are long chains made from many smaller molecules called nucleotides. Each nucleotide is made of a sugar, a base and a phosphate group. The two differences between DNA and RNA are their sugars and their bases. DNA has a deoxyribose sugar while RNA has a ribose sugar. DNA has four different bases – adenine (A), thymine (T), guanine (G), and cytosine (C). RNA has three of the same bases but the thymine base is replaced with a base called uracil (U).

Recreating Life in a Lab - In Vitro Cultured

Cell Culture is the process by which cells are grown under controlled conditions, generally outside their natural environment. After the cells of interest have been isolated from living tissue, they can subsequently be maintained under carefully controlled conditions. These conditions vary for each cell type, but generally consist of a suitable vessel with a substrate or medium that supplies the essential nutrients (amino acids, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals), growth factors, hormones, and gases (CO2, O2), and regulates the physio-chemical environment (pH buffer, osmotic pressure, temperature). Most cells require a surface or an artificial substrate (adherent or monolayer culture) whereas others can be grown free floating in culture medium (suspension culture). The lifespan of most cells is genetically determined, but some cell culturing cells have been “transformed” into immortal cells which will reproduce indefinitely if the optimal conditions are provided. In practice, the term "cell culture" now refers to the culturing of cells derived from multicellular eukaryotes, especially animal cells, in contrast with other types of culture that also grow cells, such as plant tissue culture, fungal culture, and microbiological culture (of microbes). The historical development and methods of cell culture are closely interrelated to those of tissue culture and organ culture. Viral culture is also related, with cells as hosts for the viruses. The laboratory technique of maintaining live cell lines (a population of cells descended from a single cell and containing the same genetic makeup) separated from their original tissue source became more robust in the middle 20th century. Synthetic Life.

Cultured is something grown or propagated in an artificial medium. Grow in a special preparation. Lab Grown Meat.

Cultivated is something that is no longer in the natural state. Something developed by human care and for human use. Something adapted to the environment.

In Vitro studies are performed with microorganisms, cells, or biological molecules outside their normal biological context. Colloquially called "test-tube experiments", these studies in biology and its subdisciplines are traditionally done in Labware such as Test Tubes, flasks, Petri Dishes, and microtiter plates. Studies conducted using components of an organism that have been isolated from their usual biological surroundings permit a more detailed or more convenient analysis than can be done with whole organisms; however, results obtained from in vitro experiments may not fully or accurately predict the effects on a whole organism. Unlike bacteria, most tissue cells are not adapted to living in suspension and require a solid surface on which to grow and divide. Cultures prepared directly from the tissues of an organism, that is, without cell proliferation in vitro, are called primary cultures.

In Vivo is testing and experimenting on living organisms or cells, usually animals, including humans, and plants, which the effects of various biological entities are tested. In vivo studies are those conducted in animals, humans, and whole plants. Human Experimentation.

Vitro is something synthetic that is lab-grown in an artificial environment outside the living organism.
Vivo is an artificial environment outside the living organism or within a living organism.

Growth Medium is a solid, liquid or semi-solid designed to support the growth of microorganisms or cells, or small plants like the moss Physcomitrella patens. Different types of media are used for growing different types of cells. The two major types of growth media are those used for cell culture, which use specific cell types derived from plants or animals, and microbiological culture, which are used for growing microorganisms, such as bacteria or fungi. The most common growth media for microorganisms are nutrient broths and agar plates; specialized media are sometimes required for microorganism and cell culture growth. Some organisms, termed fastidious organisms, require specialized environments due to complex nutritional requirements. Viruses, for example, are obligate intracellular parasites and require a growth medium containing living cells.

Grow your own blood vessel model in a dish. Researchers can now grow a model of a patient’s blood vessel wall in a dish from a small sample of their blood. The technology could be used to create personalized testing kits for new drugs and advance research into diseases of the blood vessels including stroke, heart attack and vascular dementia.

HeLa is an immortal cell line used in scientific research. It is the oldest and most commonly used human cell line. The line was derived from cervical cancer cells taken on February 8, 1951 from Henrietta Lacks, a 31-year-old African-American mother of 5, who died of cancer on October 4, 1951. The cell line was found to be remarkably durable and prolific, which causes it to be used extensively in scientific study. Henrietta Lacks was born Loretta Pleasant on August 1, 1920, in Roanoke, Virginia, to Eliza and Johnny Pleasant. On August 8, 1951, Lacks, who was 31 years old, went to Johns Hopkins for a routine treatment session and asked to be admitted due to continued severe abdominal pain. She received blood transfusions and remained at the hospital until her death on October 4, 1951. A partial autopsy showed that the cancer had metastasized throughout her entire body

Cell Suspension is a type of cell culture in which single cells or small aggregates of cells are allowed to function and multiply in an agitated growth medium, thus forming a suspension. Suspension cultures are used in addition to so-called adherent cultures. The cells themselves can either be derived from homogenized tissue or from another type of culture. Bio-Printing.

Life from Non-Living Matter - Abiogenesis - 3D Printing Body Parts

Organoid is a miniaturized and simplified version of an organ produced in vitro in three dimensions that shows realistic micro-anatomy. They are derived from one or a few cells from a tissue, embryonic stem cells or induced pluripotent stem cells, which can self-organize in three-dimensional culture owing to their self-renewal and differentiation capacities. The technique for growing organoids has rapidly improved since the early 2010s, and it was named by The Scientist as one of the biggest scientific advancements of 2013. Organoids are used by scientists to study disease and treatments in a laboratory. Cerebral Organoid describes artificially grown, in vitro, miniature organs resembling the brain.

Protocell is a self-organized, endogenously ordered (produced, originating or growing from within), spherical collection of lipids proposed as a stepping-stone toward the origin of life. A central question in evolution is how simple protocells first arose and how they could differ in reproductive output, thus enabling the accumulation of novel biological emergences over time, i.e. biological evolution. Although a functional protocell has not yet been achieved in a laboratory setting, the goal to understand the process appears well within reach. Knowing how Cells Grow and Divide can lead to more robust and productive plants.

Chimera is a single organism composed of cells from different zygotes. This can result in male and female organs, two blood types, or subtle variations in form.

Mitochondrion is a double membrane-bound organelle found in all eukaryotic organisms. Some cells in some multicellular organisms may however lack them (for example, mature mammalian red blood cells). A number of unicellular organisms, such as microsporidia, parabasalids, and diplomonads, have also reduced or transformed their mitochondria into other structures. To date, only one eukaryote, Monocercomonoides, is known to have completely lost its mitochondria. The word mitochondrion comes from the Greek μίτος, mitos, "thread", and χονδρίον, chondrion, "granule" or "grain-like". Mitochondria generate most of the cell's supply of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), used as a source of chemical energy. Mitochondria are commonly between 0.75 and 3 μm in diameter but vary considerably in size and structure. Unless specifically stained, they are not visible. In addition to supplying cellular energy, mitochondria are involved in other tasks, such as signaling, cellular differentiation, and cell death, as well as maintaining control of the cell cycle and cell growth. Mitochondrial biogenesis is in turn temporally coordinated with these cellular processes. Mitochondria have been implicated in several human diseases, including mitochondrial disorders, cardiac dysfunction, heart failure and autism. The number of mitochondria in a cell can vary widely by organism, tissue, and cell type. For instance, red blood cells have no mitochondria, whereas liver cells can have more than 2000; The organelle is composed of compartments that carry out specialized functions. These compartments or regions include the outer membrane, the intermembrane space, the inner membrane, and the cristae and matrix. Although most of a cell's DNA is contained in the cell nucleus, the mitochondrion has its own independent genome that shows substantial similarity to bacterial genomes. Mitochondrial proteins (proteins transcribed from Mitochondrial DNA) vary depending on the tissue and the species. In humans, 615 distinct types of protein have been identified from cardiac mitochondria, whereas in rats, 940 proteins have been reported. The mitochondrial proteome is thought to be dynamically regulated.

Ribosome is a complex molecular machine, found within all living cells, that serves as the site of biological protein production. Ribosomes link amino acids together in the order specified by messenger RNA (mRNA) molecules. Ribosomes consist of two major components: the small ribosomal subunit, which reads the RNA, and the large subunit, which joins amino acids to form a polypeptide chain. Each subunit is composed of one or more ribosomal RNA (rRNA) molecules and a variety of ribosomal proteins. The ribosomes and associated molecules are also known as the translational apparatus. Ribosome is a minute particle consisting of RNA and associated proteins, found in large numbers in the cytoplasm of living cells. They bind messenger RNA and transfer RNA to synthesize polypeptides and Protein.

Hydrocarbon is an organic compound consisting entirely of hydrogen and carbon, and thus are group 14 hydrides. Hydrocarbons from which one hydrogen atom has been removed are functional groups, called hydrocarbyls. Aromatic hydrocarbons (arenes), alkanes, alkenes, cycloalkanes and alkyne-based compounds are different types of hydrocarbons.

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon are hydrocarbons—organic compounds containing only carbon and hydrogen—that are composed of multiple aromatic rings (organic rings in which the electrons are delocalized).

Amino Acids are biologically important organic compounds containing amine (-NH2) and carboxyl (-COOH) functional groups, along with a side-chain (R group) specific to each amino acid. The key elements of an amino acid are carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen, though other elements are found in the side-chains of certain amino acids. About 500 amino acids are known (though only 20 appear in the genetic code) and can be classified in many ways.

Cellulose is an organic compound, a polysaccharide consisting of a linear chain of several hundred to many thousands of β(1→4) linked D-glucose units. Cellulose is an important structural component of the primary cell wall of green plants, many forms of algae and the oomycetes. Some species of bacteria secrete it to form biofilms. Cellulose is the most abundant organic polymer on Earth. The cellulose content of cotton fiber is 90%, that of wood is 40–50% and that of dried hemp is approximately 57%. Endothelium (blood)

Cytostasis is the inhibition of cell growth and multiplication. Cytostatic refers to a cellular component or medicine that inhibits cell growth. Cytostasis is an important prerequisite for structured multicellular organisms. Without regulation of cell growth and division only unorganized heaps of cells would be possible. Chemotherapy of cancer, treatment of skin diseases and treatment of infections are common use cases of cytostatic drugs. Active hygienic products generally contain cytostatic substances. Cytostatic mechanisms and drugs generally occur together with cytotoxic ones.

Cellular Respiration is a set of metabolic reactions and processes that take place in the cells of organisms to convert biochemical energy from nutrients into Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP), and then release waste products. The reactions involved in respiration are catabolic reactions, which break large molecules into smaller ones, releasing energy in the process, as weak so-called "high-energy" bonds are replaced by stronger bonds in the products. Respiration is one of the key ways a cell releases chemical energy to fuel cellular activity. Cellular respiration is considered an exothermic redox reaction which releases heat. The overall reaction occurs in a series of biochemical steps, most of which are redox reactions themselves. Although technically, cellular respiration is a combustion reaction, it clearly does not resemble one when it occurs in a living cell because of the slow release of energy from the series of reactions. Nutrients that are commonly used by animal and plant cells in respiration include sugar, amino acids and fatty acids, and the most common oxidizing agent (electron acceptor) is molecular oxygen (O2). The chemical energy stored in ATP (its third phosphate group is weakly bonded to the rest of the molecule and is cheaply broken allowing stronger bonds to form, thereby transferring energy for use by the cell) can then be used to drive processes requiring energy, including biosynthesis, locomotion or transportation of molecules across cell membranes. Mitochondria.

Cellular Waste Product are formed as a by-product of cellular respiration, a series of processes and reactions that generate energy for the cell, in the form of ATP. Two examples of cellular respiration creating cellular waste products are aerobic respiration and anaerobic respiration. Cell Death - Cell Injury.

Images of invisible holes or cellular pores on cells may jumpstart research.

Synthetic red blood cells mimic natural ones, and have new abilities. Red blood cells take up oxygen from the lungs and deliver it to the body's tissues. These disk-shaped cells contain millions of molecules of hemoglobin -- an iron-containing protein that binds oxygen. RBCs are highly flexible, which allows them to squeeze through tiny capillaries and then bounce back to their former shape. The cells also contain proteins on their surface that allow them to circulate through blood vessels for a long time without being gobbled up by immune cells.

Researchers unravel mechanisms that control Cell Size.

Pannexin have been shown to predominantly exist as large transmembrane channels connecting the intracellular and extracellular space, allowing the passage of ions and small molecules between these compartments (such as ATP and sulforhodamine B). Three pannexins have been described in Chordates: Panx1, Panx2 and Panx3. innexins are responsible for forming gap junctions in invertebrates.

Supramolecular chemistry: Self-constructed folded macrocycles with low symmetry. The synthesis and self-organization of biological macromolecules is essential for life on earth. Chemists now report the spontaneous emergence of complex ring-shaped macromolecules with low degrees of symmetry in the laboratory. Molecules that are made up of multiple repeating subunits, known as monomers, which may vary or not in their chemical structure, are classified as macromolecules or polymers. Examples exist in nature, including proteins and nucleic acids, which are at the heart of all biological systems. Proteins not only form the basis of structural elements in cells, they also serve as enzymes -- which catalyze essentially all of the myriad of chemical transformations that take place in living systems. In contrast, nucleic acids such as DNA and RNA serve as informational macromolecules. DNA stores the cell's genetic information, which is selectively copied into RNA molecules that provide the blueprints for the synthesis of proteins. In addition, long chains comprised of sugar units provide energy reserves in the form of glycogen, which is stored in the liver and the muscles. These diverse classes of polymeric molecules all have one feature in common: They spontaneously fold into characteristic spatial conformations, for example the famous DNA double helix, which in most cases are essential for their biochemical functions.

Cell Cycle - Cell Division

Cell Cycle is the series of events that take place in a cell leading to its division and duplication of its DNA to produce two daughter cells. In bacteria, which lack a cell nucleus, the cell cycle is divided into the B, C, and D periods. The B period extends from the end of cell division to the beginning of DNA replication. DNA replication occurs during the C period. The D period refers to the stage between the end of DNA replication and the splitting of the bacterial cell into two daughter cells.

Stem Cells - DNA Repair - Gene Expression

Cell Division is the process by which a parent cell divides into two or more daughter cells. Cell division usually occurs as part of a larger cell cycle. In eukaryotes, there are two distinct types of cell division: a vegetative division, whereby each daughter cell is genetically identical to the parent cell (mitosis), and a reproductive cell division, whereby the number of chromosomes in the daughter cells is reduced by half to produce haploid gametes (meiosis). Meiosis results in four haploid daughter cells by undergoing one round of DNA replication followed by two divisions: homologous chromosomes are separated in the first division, and sister chromatids are separated in the second division. Both of these cell division cycles are used in sexually reproducing organisms at some point in their life cycle, and both are believed to be present in the last eukaryotic common ancestor. Prokaryotes also undergo a vegetative cell division known as binary fission, where their genetic material is segregated equally into two daughter cells. All cell divisions, regardless of organism, are preceded by a single round of DNA Replication. Cells divide at least a billion times in the average person, usually without any problem. However, when cell division goes wrong, it can lead to a range of diseases. The process of dividing the cell takes around an hour in mammals. pH.

Meiosis is a specialized type of cell division that reduces the chromosome number by half, creating four haploid cells, each genetically distinct from the parent cell that gave rise to them. This process occurs in all sexually reproducing single-celled and multicellular eukaryotes, including animals, plants, and fungi. Errors in meiosis resulting in aneuploidy are the leading known cause of miscarriage and the most frequent genetic cause of developmental disabilities. Fractals.

Mitosis is a part of the cell cycle when replicated chromosomes are separated into two new nuclei. Cell division gives rise to genetically identical cells in which the number of chromosomes is maintained. In general, mitosis (division of the nucleus) is preceded by the S stage of interphase (during which the DNA is replicated) and is often accompanied or followed by cytokinesis, which divides the cytoplasm, organelles and cell membrane into two new cells containing roughly equal shares of these cellular components. Mitosis and cytokinesis together define the mitotic (M) phase of an animal cell cycle—the division of the mother cell into two daughter cells genetically identical to each other. The process of mitosis is divided into stages corresponding to the completion of one set of activities and the start of the next. These stages are prophase, prometaphase, metaphase, anaphase, and telophase. During mitosis, the chromosomes, which have already duplicated, condense and attach to spindle fibers that pull one copy of each chromosome to opposite sides of the cell. The result is two genetically identical daughter nuclei. The rest of the cell may then continue to divide by cytokinesis to produce two daughter cells. Producing three or more daughter cells instead of the normal two is a mitotic error called tripolar mitosis or multipolar mitosis (direct cell triplication / multiplication). Other errors during mitosis can induce apoptosis (programmed cell death) or cause mutations. Certain types of cancer can arise from such mutations. Mitosis occurs only in eukaryotic cells. Prokaryotic cells, which lack a nucleus, divide by a different process called binary fission. Mitosis varies between organisms. For example, animal cells undergo an "open" mitosis, where the nuclear envelope breaks down before the chromosomes separate, whereas fungi undergo a "closed" mitosis, where chromosomes divide within an intact cell nucleus. Most animal cells undergo a shape change, known as mitotic cell rounding, to adopt a near spherical morphology at the start of mitosis. Most human cells are produced by mitotic cell division. Important exceptions include the gametes – sperm and egg cells – which are produced by meiosis.

Cellular Senescence is when normal cells cease to divide. Senescence is the process by which cells irreversibly stop dividing and enter a state of permanent growth arrest without undergoing cell death.

First Interactive Model of Human Cell Division. Real-time tracking of proteins during mitosis is now possible using a 4D computer model, Mitosis is how one cell divides and becomes two. There are about 600 different proteins involved in mitosis in human cells. Mitotic cell atlas: track proteins during Cell Division (youtube).

New Human Cell Structure Discovered. The structure is a new type of protein complex that the cell uses to attach to its surroundings and proves to play a key part in cell division.

Hayflick Limit is the number of times a normal human cell population will divide before cell division stops.

Mitochondrial Fusion Supports Cell Division. New research shows that when cells divide rapidly, their mitochondria are fused together. In this configuration, the cell is able to more efficiently use oxygen for energy. This work illuminates the inner workings of dividing cells and shows how mitochondria combine to help cells to multiply in unexpected ways.

Scientists detail how chromosomes reorganize after cell division. During mitosis, as a cell divides into two daughter cells, virtually all the genes are temporarily turned off, and the intricate structures in chromatin fibers, the substance of chromosomes, are disrupted. After mitosis, the daughter cells faithfully rebuild the complex chromatin structures within each cell nucleus. The complicated interplay between chromatin architecture and gene transcription. The study detected the formation of structures in chromatin: the appearance and expansion of transcriptionally active and silenced compartments; the creation of contact between regulatory regions of the genome; and changes in so-called architectural proteins called CTCF and cohesin that help sculpt the genome. Transcription, the conversion of information encoded in DNA into its equivalent in RNA, temporarily stops during mitosis, but reactivates thereafter in the daughter cells. Because gene mutations that disrupt normal genome architecture or transcription can play a key role in disease, better understanding of chromatin architecture has potential clinical importance.

How cells learn to 'count'. Trillions of mammalian cells achieve this uniformity -- but some consistently break this mold to fulfill unique functions. In single-ciliated cells, Holland says, centrioles are created before a cell divides. A cell contains two-parent centrioles that each duplicate so that both new cells gets one pair of centrioles -- the oldest of these two centrioles then goes on to form the base of the cilium. However, multicilliated cells create unique structures, called deuterosomes, that act as a copy machine to enable the production of tens to hundreds of centrioles, allowing these cells to create many cilia.

How cells relieve DNA replication stress. Scientists revealed that ATAD5 actively deals with replication stress, in addition to its known function to prevent such stressful situations. Though ATAD5 has been known as a tumor suppressor by maintaining genomic stability and suppressing tumorigenesis, it has been unclear whether the replication regulatory protein is also involved in the replication stress response. In addition, they reported that PCNA unloading by ATAD5 is a prerequisite for efficient RAD51 recruitment. These suggest that a series of processes starting with RAD51 recruitment and leading to structural changes, breakage, and eventual replication restart are regulated by ATAD5. These findings highlight that the role of ATAD5 in maintaining genome stability extends beyond its roles in PCNA unloading during normal DNA replication. Replication stress can be caused by extracellular sources such as oncogenes and chemicals. However, recent studies have shown that intracellular sources such as DNA-specific structures or the abnormal function of specific proteins can also provoke replication stress.

Acoustic Waves can Monitor Stiffness of Living Cells (MIT)

Immortalised Cell Line is a population of cells from a multicellular organism which would normally not proliferate indefinitely but, due to mutation, have evaded normal cellular senescence and instead can keep undergoing division. The cells can therefore be grown for prolonged periods in vitro. The mutations required for immortality can occur naturally or be intentionally induced for experimental purposes. Immortal cell lines are a very important tool for research into the biochemistry and cell biology of multicellular organisms. Immortalised cell lines have also found uses in biotechnology. An immortalised cell line should not be confused with stem cells, which can also divide indefinitely, but form a normal part of the development of a multicellular organism.

Rescue mechanism that helps cells survive malfunctioning split. Cells replicate their genetic material and divide into two identical clones to perpetuate life. Some cells pause in the process with a single, undivided nucleus. When the cell resumes division after such a pause, the nucleus can become caught in the fissure, splitting violently, and killing both cells. But that is not always the case; some mutant cells can recover by pushing their nucleus to safety. Researchers are starting to understand how active nuclear displacement rescues cell death. DNA Replication.

Cell division: Cleaning the nucleus without detergents. Researchers have uncovered how cells remove unwanted components from the nucleus following mitosis. Organization of cells into specific compartments is critical for their function. For instance, by separating the nucleus from the cytoplasm, the nuclear envelope prevents premature translation of immature RNAs. During mitosis, however, the nuclear envelope disassembles, allowing large cytoplasmic components such as ribosomes to mix with nuclear material. When the nuclear envelope reassembles following mitosis, these cytoplasmic components must once again be removed. "The nuclear envelope can contribute to this by actively importing or exporting substrates up to a certain size, but it was not clear what happens with very large cytoplasmic components," says Mina Petrovic, PhD student in the Gerlich lab and joint first author of the study. The research team from IMBA and EMBL have now shown that large components such as ribosomes are in fact removed from the forming nucleus before the nuclear envelope is assembled again. This exclusion process requires the protein Ki-67, which was the focus of an earlier publication in Nature by Sara Cuylen-Häring, the other joint first author of this study, when she was a postdoc in the Gerlich lab in 2016. Dr Cuylen-Häring explains: "We previously showed that Ki-67 was responsible for keeping chromosomes separate in early stages of mitosis by acting as a surfactant. Remarkably, we have now found that it changes its properties at the end of mitosis and performs the opposite function, namely clustering of chromosomes. By coming together into a dense cluster at the end of cell division, chromosomes are able to exclude large cytoplasmic components before the nuclear envelope reforms."

Cell Death - Out with the Old, In with the New

Cell Death is the event of a biological cell ceasing to carry out its functions. This may be the result of the natural process of old cells dying and being replaced by new ones, or may result from such factors as disease, localized injury, or the death of the organism of which the cells are part.

Longevity (senescence) - Entropy - Autophagy (fasting)

Programmed Cell Death is cell death mediated by an intracellular program. PCD is carried out in a regulated process, which usually confers advantage during an organism's life-cycle. For example, the differentiation of fingers and toes in a developing human embryo occurs because cells between the fingers apoptose; the result is that the digits are separate. PCD serves fundamental functions during both plant and metazoa (multicellular animals) tissue development. Zombie Cells.

Apoptosis is a process of programmed cell death that occurs in multicellular organisms. Biochemical events lead to characteristic cell changes (morphology) and death. These changes include blebbing, cell shrinkage, nuclear fragmentation, chromatin condensation, chromosomal DNA fragmentation, and global mRNA decay. Between 50 and 70 billion cells die each day due to apoptosis in the average human adult. For an average child between the ages of 8 and 14, approximately 20 billion to 30 billion cells die a day. Most of the cells in your body reproduce at a nonstop rate. Your body needs to replace the red blood cells its loses. Every second, 2.5 million red blood cells die (a relatively small number compared the trillions of cells you have in your body). Red blood cells are replaced at a rate of about 2 million per second, or 222 billion to 242 billion cells produced every day by the average human body. DNA Repair.

Necrosis is a form of cell injury which results in the premature death of cells in living tissue by Autolysis. Necrosis is caused by factors external to the cell or tissue, such as infection, toxins, or trauma which result in the unregulated digestion of cell components. In contrast, apoptosis is a naturally occurring programmed and targeted cause of cellular death. While apoptosis often provides beneficial effects to the organism, necrosis is almost always detrimental and can be fatal. Cellular death due to necrosis does not follow the apoptotic signal transduction pathway, but rather various receptors are activated, and result in the loss of cell membrane integrity and an uncontrolled release of products of cell death into the extracellular space. This initiates in the surrounding tissue an inflammatory response which attracts leukocytes and nearby phagocytes which eliminate the dead cells by phagocytosis. However, microbial damaging substances released by leukocytes would create collateral damage to surrounding tissues. This excess collateral damage inhibits the healing process. Thus, untreated necrosis results in a build-up of decomposing dead tissue and cell debris at or near the site of the cell death. A classic example is gangrene. For this reason, it is often necessary to remove necrotic tissue surgically, a procedure known as debridement, which is the medical removal of dead, damaged, or infected tissue to improve the healing potential of the remaining healthy tissue.

Necroptosis is a programmed form of necrosis, or inflammatory cell death. Conventionally, necrosis is associated with unprogrammed cell death resulting from cellular damage or infiltration by pathogens, in contrast to orderly, programmed cell death via apoptosis. The discovery of necroptosis showed that cells can execute necrosis in a programmed fashion and that apoptosis is not always the preferred form of cell death. Furthermore, the immunogenic nature of necroptosis favors its participation in certain circumstances, such as aiding defense pathogens by the immune system. Necroptosis is well defined as a viral defense mechanism, allowing the cell to undergo "cellular suicide" in a caspase-independent fashion in the presence of viral caspase inhibitors to restrict virus replication. In addition to being a response to disease, necroptosis has also been characterized as a component of inflammatory diseases such as Crohn's disease, pancreatitis, and myocardial infarction.The signaling pathway responsible for carrying out necroptosis is generally understood. TNFα leads to stimulation of its receptor TNFR1. TNFR1 binding protein TNFR-associated death protein TRADD and TNF receptor-associated factor 2 TRAF2 signals to RIPK1 which recruits RIPK3 forming the necrosome also named ripoptosome. Phosphorylation of MLKL by the ripoptosome drives oligomerization of MLKL, allowing MLKL to insert into and permeabilize plasma membranes and organelles. Integration of MLKL leads to the inflammatory phenotype and release of damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs), which elicit immune responses.

Your body mostly replaces itself every 7 to 15 years. Cells have a finite life span, and when they die off they are replaced with new cells. Skin cells live about two or three weeks. Colon cells have it rough and die off after about four days. Red blood cells live for about four months, while white blood cells live on average more than a year. Fat cells are replaced at the rate of about 10% per year in adults. Neurons in the cerebral cortex are not replaced when they die. That memory is erased or updated.

Differentiated and Undifferentiated Cells - Brain Cells

Cell Damage can occur as a result of an adverse stimulus which disrupts the normal homeostasis of affected cells. Among other causes, this can be due to physical, chemical, infectious, biological, nutritional or immunological factors. Cell damage can be reversible or irreversible. Depending on the extent of injury, the cellular response may be adaptive and where possible, homeostasis is restored. Cell death occurs when the severity of the injury exceeds the cell’s ability to repair itself. Cell death is relative to both the length of exposure to a harmful stimulus and the severity of the damage caused. Cell death may occur by necrosis or apoptosis.

DNA Repair (natural defenses)

Mitotic Catastrophe refers to a mechanism of delayed mitotic-linked cell death, a sequence of events resulting from premature or inappropriate entry of cells into mitosis that can be caused by chemical or physical stresses.

Biological machinery of cell's 'executioner' yields secrets of its control. Researchers by structural biologists have discovered how the cell switches on an executioner mechanism called necroptosis that induces damaged or infected cells to commit suicide to protect the body.

Cell Suicide could hold key for Brain Health and Food Security. Research into the self-destruction of cells in humans and plants could lead to treatments for neurodegenerative brain diseases and the development of disease-resistant plants. A study has identified the role certain proteins play in cellular suicide. Neurodegenerative diseases affect millions of people worldwide, and come about for different reasons, but what connects them is the breakdown of brain cells. "A particular Protein SARM1 is essential for this brain cell breakdown across different neurodegenerative diseases. Plant diseases account for more than 15 per cent of crops losses per year.

Quality Control in Cells. Researchers investigate key component in bacteria. A protective protein that detects newly-made incomplete protein chains in higher cells is found to have a relative in bacteria. There, the protein also plays a central role in quality control which ensures that defective proteins are degraded. The functional mechanism of these Rqc2 proteins must therefore have already existed several billion years ago in the so-called last universal common ancestor. Scientists have experimentally investigated the bacterial Rqc2 relative's function.

Cell Signaling

Cell Signaling is part of any communication process that governs basic activities of cells and coordinates all cell actions. The ability of cells to perceive and correctly respond to their microenvironment is the basis of development, tissue repair, and immunity as well as normal tissue homeostasis. Errors in signaling interactions and cellular information processing are responsible for diseases such as cancer, autoimmunity, and diabetes. By understanding cell signaling, diseases may be treated more effectively and, theoretically, artificial tissues may be created. Systems biology studies the underlying structure of cell-signaling networks and how changes in these networks may affect the transmission and flow of information (signal transduction). Such networks are complex systems in their organization and may exhibit a number of emergent properties, including bistability and ultrasensitivity. Analysis of cell-signaling networks requires a combination of experimental and theoretical approaches, including the development and analysis of simulations and modeling. Long-range allostery is often a significant component of cell-signaling events. All cells receive and respond to signals from their surroundings. This is accomplished by a variety of signal molecules that are secreted or expressed on the surface of one cell and bind to a receptor expressed by the other cells, thereby integrating and coordinating the function of the many individual cells that make up organisms. Each cell is programmed to respond to specific extracellular signal molecules. Extracellular signaling usually entails the following steps: 1. Synthesis and release of the signaling molecule by the signaling cell; 2. Transport of the signal to the target cell; 3. Binding of the signal by a specific receptor leading to its activation; 4. Initiation of signal-transduction pathways. Ligands are signaling molecules that cause modulation of processes inside cells by binding to receptors. Intracellular ligands, such as nitric oxide and estrogen, are small and hydrophobic and diffuse directly through the cell membrane to activate proteins. Signaling molecules are the molecules that are responsible for transmitting information between cells in your body. The size, shape, and function of different types of signaling molecules can vary greatly. Some carry signals over short distances, while others transmit information over very long distances. Cells typically communicate using chemical signals. These chemical signals, which are proteins or other molecules produced by a sending cell, are often secreted from the cell and released into the extracellular space. There, they can float – like messages in a bottle – over to neighboring cells. There are four basic categories of chemical signaling found in multicellular organisms: paracrine signaling, autocrine signaling, endocrine signaling, and signaling by direct contact. Direct signaling can occur by transferring signaling molecules across gap junctions between neighboring cells. How Your Brain Cells Talk to Each Other—Whispered Secrets and Public Announcements.

Cellular Communication is an umbrella term used in biology and more in depth in biophysics, biochemistry and biosemiotics to identify different types of communication methods between living cellulites. Some of the methods include cell signaling among others. This process allows millions of cells to communicate and work together to perform important bodily processes that are necessary for survival. Both multicellular and unicellular organisms heavily rely on cell-cell communication.

Neuron Brain Signals - Cellular Noise

Cell Surface Receptor are receptors that are embedded in the plasma membrane of cells. They act in cell signaling by receiving (binding to) extracellular molecules. They are specialized integral membrane proteins that allow communication between the cell and the extracellular space. The extracellular molecules may be hormones, neurotransmitters, cytokines, growth factors, cell adhesion molecules, or nutrients; they react with the receptor to induce changes in the metabolism and activity of a cell. In the process of signal transduction, ligand binding affects a cascading chemical change through the cell membrane. Immune Receptor is a receptor, usually on a cell membrane, which binds to a substance (for example, a cytokine) and causes a response in the immune system.

Signal Transduction is the process by which a chemical or physical signal is transmitted through a cell as a series of molecular events, most commonly protein phosphorylation catalysed by protein kinases, which ultimately results in a cellular response. Proteins responsible for detecting stimuli are generally termed receptors, although in some cases the term sensor is used. The changes elicited by ligand binding (or signal sensing) in a receptor give rise to a signaling cascade, which is a chain of biochemical events along a signaling pathway. When signaling pathways interact with one another they form networks, which allow cellular responses to be coordinated, often by combinatorial signaling events. At the molecular level, such responses include changes in the transcription or translation of genes, and post-translational and conformational changes in proteins, as well as changes in their location. These molecular events are the basic mechanisms controlling cell growth, proliferation, metabolism and many other processes. In multicellular organisms, signal transduction pathways have evolved to regulate cell communication in a wide variety of ways. Each component (or node) of a signaling pathway is classified according to the role it plays with respect to the initial stimulus. Ligands are termed first messengers, while receptors are the signal transducers, which then activate primary effectors. Such effectors are often linked to second messengers, which can activate secondary effectors, and so on. Depending on the efficiency of the nodes, a signal can be amplified (a concept known as signal gain), so that one signaling molecule can generate a response involving hundreds to millions of molecules. As with other signals, the transduction of biological signals is characterised by delay, noise, signal feedback and feedforward and interference, which can range from negligible to pathological. With the advent of computational biology, the analysis of signaling pathways and networks has become an essential tool to understand cellular functions and disease, including signaling rewiring mechanisms underlying responses to acquired drug resistance. Sound.

Extracellular ATP as a Signaling Molecule for Epithelial Cells. The charge of this invited review is to present a convincing case for the fact that cells release their ATP for physiological reasons. Many of our "purinergic" colleagues as well as ourselves have experienced resistance to this concept, because it is teleologically counter-intuitive. This review serves to integrate the three main tenets of extracellular ATP signaling: ATP release from cells, ATP receptors on cells, and ATP receptor-driven signaling within cells to affect cell or tissue physiology. First principles will be discussed in the Introduction concerning extracellular ATP signaling. All possible cellular mechanisms of ATP release will then be presented. Use of nucleotide and nucleoside scavengers as well as broad-specificity purinergic receptor antagonists will be presented as a method of detecting endogenous ATP release affecting a biological endpoint. Innovative methods of detecting released ATP by adapting luciferase detection reagents or by using "biosensors" will be presented. Because our laboratory has been primarily interested in epithelial cell physiology and pathophysiology for several years, the role of extracellular ATP in regulation of epithelial cell function will be the focus of this review. For ATP release to be physiologically relevant, receptors for ATP are required at the cell surface. The families of P2Y G protein-coupled receptors and ATP-gated P2X receptor channels will be introduced. Particular attention will be paid to P2X receptor channels that mediate the fast actions of extracellular ATP signaling, much like neurotransmitter-gated channels versus metabotropic heptahelical neurotransmitter receptors that couple to G proteins. Finally, fascinating biological paradigms in which extracellular ATP signaling has been implicated will be highlighted. It is the goal of this review to convert and attract new scientists into the exploding field of extracellular nucleotide signaling and to convince the reader that extracellular ATP is indeed a signaling molecule. Bioelectricity - Human Magnetic Field.

Putting a Face on a Cell Surface. Researchers have been able to thoroughly describe the repertoire proteins on the cell surface for the first time. On the cell surface, anchored in the cell membrane, a wide array of proteins perform functions, which are vital for the cell. These proteins, collectively known as the surfaceome, are a cell's antennae to the outside world, sending and receiving signals that enable it to communicate with other cells. They also serve as gate keepers for molecules, transporting materials into and out of the cell, and enable cells to attach themselves to other cells or structures. The medical field has a keen interest in the surfaceome and uses it to treat diseases. Some two-thirds of known medications achieve their effect by slotting precisely into a specific surface protein and triggering a cellular signalling cascade. The researchers made use of the benefits of machine learning in their work: First, they taught the computer to compile properties and features of surface proteins by feeding it with protein data collected in previous experiments. The computer turned presence of cell surface specific features into a score and then calculated a surfaceome score of the 20,000 or so proteins found in humans. Finally he predicted above which score a protein is likely to appear at the cell surface. Predictions largely correct. In the end, the computer-generated inventory encompassed about 2,900 different proteins. In other words, out of all the proteins in a human cell, one in seven could appear on the cell surface. The newly developed algorithm achieved a high degree of accuracy in its predictions: a subsequent review of the experiment revealed that the computer was correct in more than 93 percent of cases. In addition, the researchers were able to show that the number of surface proteins varies widely by cell type. Using publicly accessible data on cell lines, they were able to show that immune cells have only about 500 different surface proteins, whereas lung and brain cells have more than 1,000. But the cells that showed the greatest variety in surface proteins were primary stem cells, with about 1,800 different kinds. "Cell lines have a less complex surface proteome than cells that have just been removed from body tissue, since the interactions that cell lines undergo are less diverse," Wollscheid says. The ETH researchers have stored their findings in a public database. Bringing information into the cell - Surface Science.

Cell Membrane is a biological membrane that separates the interior of all cells from the outside environment (the extracellular space) which protects the cell from its environment. Cell membrane consists of a lipid bilayer, including cholesterols (a lipid component) that sit between phospholipids to maintain their fluidity under various temperature, in combination with proteins such as integral proteins, and peripheral proteins that go across inside and outside of the membrane serving as membrane transporter, and loosely attached to the outer (peripheral) side of the cell membrane acting as several kinds of enzymes shaping the cell, respectively. The cell membrane controls the movement of substances in and out of cells and organelles. In this way, it is selectively permeable to ions and organic molecules. In addition, cell membranes are involved in a variety of cellular processes such as cell adhesion, ion conductivity and cell signalling and serve as the attachment surface for several extracellular structures, including the cell wall, the carbohydrate layer called the glycocalyx, and the intracellular network of protein fibers called the cytoskeleton. In the field of synthetic biology, cell membranes can be artificially reassembled. Membrane Potential - Porous.

Biological Membrane is an enclosing or separating membrane that acts as a selectively permeable barrier within living things. Biological membranes, in the form of eukaryotic cell membranes, consist of a phospholipid bilayer with embedded, integral and peripheral proteins used in communication and transportation of chemicals and ions. The bulk of lipid in a cell membrane provides a fluid matrix for proteins to rotate and laterally diffuse for physiological functioning. Proteins are adapted to high membrane fluidity environment of lipid bilayer with the presence of an annular lipid shell, consisting of lipid molecules bound tightly to surface of integral membrane proteins. The cell membranes are different from the isolating tissues formed by layers of cells, such as mucous membranes, basement membranes, and serous membranes.

Exosome are cell-derived vesicles that are present in many and perhaps all eukaryotic fluids, including blood, urine, and cultured medium of cell cultures. A sub-type of exosomes, defined as matrix-bound nanovesicles (MBVs), was reported to be present in extracellular matrix (ECM) bioscaffolds (non-fluid). The reported diameter of exosomes is between 30 and 100 nm, which is larger than low-density lipoproteins (LDL) but much smaller than, for example, red blood cells. Exosomes are either released from the cell when multivesicular bodies fuse with the plasma membrane or released directly from the plasma membrane. Evidence is accumulating that exosomes have specialized functions and play a key role in processes such as coagulation, intercellular signaling, and waste management. Consequently, there is a growing interest in the clinical applications of exosomes. Exosomes can potentially be used for prognosis, for therapy, and as biomarkers for health and disease.

Vesicle in Biology and Chemistry is a small structure within a cell, or extracellular, consisting of fluid enclosed by a lipid bilayer. Vesicles form naturally during the processes of secretion (exocytosis), uptake (endocytosis) and transport of materials within the cytoplasm. Vesicles perform a variety of functions. Because it is separated from the cytosol, the inside of the vesicle can be made to be different from the cytosolic environment. For this reason, vesicles are a basic tool used by the cell for organizing cellular substances. Vesicles are involved in metabolism, transport, buoyancy control, and temporary storage of food and enzymes. They can also act as chemical reaction chambers.

Quorum Sensing is a system of stimuli and response correlated to population density. Quorum sensing (QS) enables bacteria to restrict the expression of specific genes to the high cell densities at which the resulting phenotypes will be most beneficial. Many species of bacteria use quorum sensing to coordinate gene expression according to the density of their local population. In similar fashion, some social insects use quorum sensing to determine where to nest. In addition to its function in biological systems, quorum sensing has several useful applications for computing and robotics. Quorum sensing can function as a decision-making process in any decentralized system, as long as individual components have: (a) a means of assessing the number of other components they interact with and (b) a standard response once a threshold number of components is detected.

Paracrine Signaling is a form of cell signaling or cell-to-cell communication in which a cell produces a signal to induce changes in nearby cells, altering the behaviour of those cells. Signaling molecules known as paracrine factors diffuse over a relatively short distance (local action), as opposed to cell signaling by endocrine factors, hormones which travel considerably longer distances via the circulatory system; juxtacrine interactions; and autocrine signaling. Cells that produce paracrine factors secrete them into the immediate extracellular environment. Factors then travel to nearby cells in which the gradient of factor received determines the outcome. However, the exact distance that paracrine factors can travel is not certain.

Autocrine Signaling is a form of cell signaling in which a cell secretes a hormone or chemical messenger (called the autocrine agent) that binds to autocrine receptors on that same cell, leading to changes in the cell. This can be contrasted with paracrine signaling, intracrine signaling, or classical endocrine signaling.

Endocrine System is a chemical messenger system comprising feedback loops of the hormones released by internal glands of an organism directly into the circulatory system, regulating distant target organs. In vertebrates, the hypothalamus is the neural control center for all endocrine systems. In humans, the major endocrine glands are the thyroid gland and the adrenal glands. The study of the endocrine system and its disorders is known as endocrinology. Endocrinology is a branch of internal medicine.

Cell Adhesion is the process by which cells interact and attach to neighbouring cells through specialised molecules of the cell surface. This process can occur either through direct contact between cell surfaces or indirect interaction, where cells attach to surrounding extracellular matrix, a gel-like structure containing molecules released by cells into spaces between them. Cells adhesion occurs from the interactions between cell-adhesion molecules (CAMs), transmembrane proteins located on the cell surface. Cell adhesion links cells in different ways and can be involved in signal transduction for cells to detect and respond to changes in the surroundings. Other cellular processes regulated by cell adhesion include cell migration and tissue development in multicellular organisms. Alterations in cell adhesion can disrupt important cellular processes and lead to a variety of diseases, including cancer and arthritis. Cell adhesion is also essential for infectious organisms, such as bacteria or viruses, to cause diseases.

Microbial Intelligence is the intelligence shown by microorganisms. The concept encompasses complex adaptive behaviour shown by single cells, and altruistic or cooperative behavior in populations of like or unlike cells mediated by chemical signalling that induces physiological or behavioral changes in cells and influences colony structures.

Acetylcholine is a neurotransmitter—a chemical message released by nerve cells to send signals to other cells, such as neurons, muscle cells and gland cells.

Ion Channels are pore-forming membrane proteins that allow ions to pass through the channel pore and permit the selective passage of ions through cell membranes by utilizing proteins that function as pores, which allow for the passage of electrical charge in and out of the cell. These ion channels are most often gated, meaning they require a specific stimulus to cause the channel to open and close. These ion channel types regulate the flow of charged ions across the membrane and therefore mediate membrane potential of the cell. Molecules that act as channel blockers are important in the field of pharmacology, as a large portion of drug design is the use of ion channel antagonists in regulating physiological response. The specificity of channel block molecules on certain channels makes it a valuable tool in the treatment of numerous disorders

Potassium Channel are the most widely distributed type of ion channel and are found in virtually all living organisms. They form potassium-selective pores that span cell membranes. Furthermore potassium channels are found in most cell types and control a wide variety of cell functions. sodium.

Sodium–Potassium Pump is an enzyme (an electrogenic transmembrane ATPase) found in the membrane of all animal cells. It performs several functions in cell physiology. The Na+/K+-ATPase enzyme is active (i.e. it uses energy from ATP). For every ATP molecule that the pump uses, three sodium ions are exported and two potassium ions are imported; there is hence a net export of a single positive charge per pump cycle. Proton Pump.

Calcium ions contribute to the physiology and biochemistry of organisms and the cell. (Ca2+). They play an important role in signal transduction pathways, where they act as a second messenger, in neurotransmitter release from neurons, in contraction of all muscle cell types, and in fertilization. Many enzymes require calcium ions as a cofactor, including several of the coagulation factors. Extracellular calcium is also important for maintaining the potential difference across excitable cell membranes, as well as proper bone formation. Batteries.

Understanding ion channel inhibition to open doors in drug discovery. Scientists have discovered how drug-like small molecules can regulate the activity of therapeutically relevant ion channels—and their findings could transform ongoing drug development efforts. A major mechanism by which cells communicate with their environment is the movement of metal ions through channels located within their cell membranes.

Channel Blocker is the biological mechanism in which a particular molecule is used to prevent the opening of ion channels in order to produce a physiological response in a cell. Channel blocking is conducted by different types of molecules, such as cations, anions, amino acids, and other chemicals. These blockers act as ion channel antagonists, preventing the response that is normally provided by the opening of the channel.

Metabolic Network is the complete set of metabolic and physical processes that determine the physiological and biochemical properties of a cell. As such, these networks comprise the chemical reactions of metabolism, the metabolic pathways, as well as the regulatory interactions that guide these reactions. With the sequencing of complete genomes, it is now possible to reconstruct the network of biochemical reactions in many organisms, from bacteria to human.

Metabolic Network Modelling allows for an in-depth insight into the molecular mechanisms of a particular organism. In particular, these models correlate the genome with molecular physiology. A reconstruction breaks down metabolic pathways (such as glycolysis and the Citric acid cycle) into their respective reactions and enzymes, and analyzes them within the perspective of the entire network. In simplified terms, a reconstruction collects all of the relevant metabolic information of an organism and compiles it in a mathematical model. Validation and analysis of reconstructions can allow identification of key features of metabolism such as growth yield, resource distribution, network robustness, and gene essentiality. This knowledge can then be applied to create novel biotechnology. In general, the process to build a reconstruction is as follows: Draft a reconstruction. Refine the model. Convert model into a mathematical/computational representation. Evaluate and debug model through experimentation.

Cytoplasm is the material or protoplasm within a living cell, excluding the cell nucleus. It comprises cytosol (the gel-like substance enclosed within the cell membrane) and the organelles – the cell's internal sub-structures. All of the contents of the cells of prokaryote organisms (such as bacteria, which lack a cell nucleus) are contained within the cytoplasm. Within the cells of eukaryote organisms the contents of the cell nucleus are separated from the cytoplasm, and are then called the nucleoplasm. The cytoplasm is about 80% water and usually colorless.

Microtubule are tubular polymers of tubulin that form part of the cytoskeleton that provides structure and shape to the cytoplasm of eukaryotic cells and some bacteria. The tubules can grow as long as 50 micrometres and are highly dynamic. The outer diameter of a microtubule is about 24 nm while the inner diameter is about 12 nm. They are formed by the polymerization of a dimer of two globular proteins, alpha and beta tubulin. Microtubules are very important in a number of cellular processes. They are involved in maintaining the structure of the cell and, together with microfilaments and intermediate filaments, they form the cytoskeleton. They also make up the internal structure of cilia and flagella. They provide platforms for intracellular transport and are involved in a variety of cellular processes, including the movement of secretory vesicles, organelles, and intracellular macromolecular assemblies (see entries for dynein and kinesin). They are also involved in cell division (by mitosis and meiosis) and are the major constituents of mitotic spindles, which are used to pull eukaryotic chromosomes apart. Microtubules are nucleated and organized by microtubule organizing centers (MTOCs), such as the centrosome found in the center of many animal cells or the basal bodies found in cilia and flagella, or the spindle pole bodies found in most fungi. There are many proteins that bind to microtubules, including the motor proteins kinesin and dynein, severing proteins like katanin, and other proteins important for regulating microtubule dynamics. Recently an actin-like protein has been found in a gram-positive bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis, which forms a microtubule-like structure and is involved in plasmid segregation.

Cytoskeleton is present in all cells of all domains of life (archaea, bacteria, eukaryotes). It is a complex network of interlinking filaments and tubules that extend throughout the cytoplasm, from the nucleus to the plasma membrane. The cytoskeletal systems of different organisms are composed of similar proteins. In eukaryotes, the cytoskeletal matrix is a dynamic structure composed of three main proteins, which are capable of rapid growth or disassembly dependent on the cell's requirements at a certain period of time.

Leaking away essential resources isn't wasteful, actually helps cells grow. Experts have been unable to explain why cells from bacteria to humans leak essential chemicals necessary for growth into their environment. New mathematical models reveal that leaking metabolites -- substances involved in the chemical processes to sustain life with production of complex molecules and energy -- may provide cells both selfish and selfless benefits. Researchers identified two such model chemical pathways with catalytic reactions that use enzymes to enhance the reaction rate, which they call the "flux control" and "growth-dilution" mechanisms. In both mechanisms, leaking one essential upstream chemical component of the pathway allows the end product to be produced more efficiently. Thus, leaking is something cells do to selfishly enhance their own growth.

Cells communicate by doing the 'wave'. A research team reports on a novel method of cell communication relying on 'mechano-chemical' signals to control cell movement. Cells work around the clock to deliver, maintain, and control every aspect of life. And just as with humans, communication is a key to their success. Every essential biological process requires some form of communication among cells, not only with their immediate neighbors but also to those significantly farther away. Current understanding is that this information exchange relies on the diffusion of signaling molecules or on cell-to-cell relays.

Stem Cells

Stem Cell are undifferentiated biological cells that can differentiate into specialized cells and can divide through mitosis to produce more stem cells. They are found in multicellular organisms. In mammals, there are two broad types of stem cells: embryonic stem cells, which are isolated from the inner cell mass of blastocysts, and adult stem cells, which are found in various tissues. In adult organisms, stem cells and progenitor cells act as a repair system for the body, replenishing adult tissues. In a developing embryo, stem cells can differentiate into all the specialized cells—ectoderm, endoderm and mesoderm (see induced pluripotent stem cells)—but also maintain the normal turnover of regenerative organs, such as blood, skin, or intestinal tissues. There are three known accessible sources of autologous adult stem cells in humans: Bone marrow, which requires extraction by harvesting, that is, drilling into bone (typically the femur or iliac crest). Adipose tissue (lipid cells), which requires extraction by liposuction. Blood, which requires extraction through apheresis, wherein blood is drawn from the donor (similar to a blood donation), and passed through a machine that extracts the stem cells and returns other portions of the blood to the donor. Stem cells can also be taken from umbilical cord blood just after birth. Of all stem cell types, autologous harvesting involves the least risk. By definition, autologous cells are obtained from one's own body, just as one may bank his or her own blood for elective surgical procedures. Adult stem cells are frequently used in various medical therapies (e.g., bone marrow transplantation). Stem cells can now be artificially grown and transformed (differentiated) into specialized cell types with characteristics consistent with cells of various tissues such as muscles or nerves. Embryonic cell lines and autologous embryonic stem cells generated through somatic cell nuclear transfer or dedifferentiation have also been proposed as promising candidates for future therapies.

Adult Stem Cell are undifferentiated cells, found throughout the body after development, that multiply by cell division to replenish dying cells and regenerate damaged tissues. More accurately known as somatic stem cells (from Greek Σωματικóς, meaning of the body), because they are usually more plentiful in juvenile (child) than in adult animal and human bodies.

Progenitor Cell is a biological cell that, like a stem cell, has a tendency to differentiate into a specific type of cell, but is already more specific than a stem cell and is pushed to differentiate into its "target" cell. The most important difference between stem cells and progenitor cells is that stem cells can replicate indefinitely, whereas progenitor cells can divide only a limited number of times. Controversy about the exact definition remains and the concept is still evolving. The terms "progenitor cell" and "stem cell" are sometimes equated. Multipotency describes progenitor cells which have the gene activation potential to differentiate into discrete cell types. For example, a multipotent blood stem cell —and this cell type can differentiate itself into several types of blood cell like lymphocytes, monocytes, neutrophils, etc., but it is still ambiguous whether HSC possess the ability to differentiate into brain cells, bone cells or other non-blood cell types. Induced Progenitor-like Cells from Mature Epithelial Cells Using Interrupted Reprogramming.

Pluripotency Stem Cell has the potential to differentiate into any of the three germ layers: endoderm (interior stomach lining, gastrointestinal tract, the lungs), mesoderm (muscle, bone, blood, urogenital), or ectoderm (epidermal tissues and nervous system). However, cell pluripotency is a continuum, ranging from the completely pluripotent cell that can form every cell of the embryo proper, e.g., embryonic stem cells and iPSCs (see below), to the incompletely or partially pluripotent cell that can form cells of all three germ layers but that may not exhibit all the characteristics of completely pluripotent cells. Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell are a type of pluripotent stem cell that can be generated directly from adult cells. (also known as iPS cells or iPSCs).

Neural Stem Cell are self-renewing, multipotent cells that generate the neurons and glia of the nervous system of all animals during embryonic development. Some neural stem cells persist in the adult vertebrate brain and continue to produce neurons throughout life. Stem cells are characterized by their capacity to differentiate into multiple cell types. They undergo symmetric or asymmetric cell division into two daughter cells. In symmetric cell division, both daughter cells are also stem cells. In asymmetric division, a stem cells produces one stem cell and one specialized cell. NSCs primarily differentiate into neurons, astrocytes, and oligodendrocytes. Neurogenesis - Transplanted brain stem cells survive without anti-rejection drugs in mice.

Asymmetric Cell Division asymmetric cell division produces two daughter cells with different cellular fates. This is in contrast to symmetric cell divisions which give rise to daughter cells of equivalent fates. Notably, stem cells divide asymmetrically to give rise to two distinct daughter cells: one copy of the original stem cell as well as a second daughter programmed to differentiate into a non-stem cell fate. (In times of growth or regeneration, stem cells can also divide symmetrically, to produce two identical copies of the original cell. DNA Replication.

Cellular Differentiation is the process where a cell changes from one cell type to another. Most commonly the cell changes to a more specialized type. Differentiation occurs numerous times during the development of a multicellular organism as it changes from a simple zygote to a complex system of tissues and cell types. Differentiation continues in adulthood as adult stem cells divide and create fully differentiated daughter cells during tissue repair and during normal cell turnover. Some differentiation occurs in response to antigen exposure. Differentiation dramatically changes a cell's size, shape, membrane potential, metabolic activity, and responsiveness to signals. These changes are largely due to highly controlled modifications in gene expression and are the study of epigenetics. With a few exceptions, cellular differentiation almost never involves a change in the DNA sequence itself. Thus, different cells can have very different physical characteristics despite having the same genome.

Differentiated Cells have become specialized cells for doing certain jobs, like muscle cells, skin cells and nerve cells. Undifferentiated  cells have not yet become specialized, so these cells could still become any kind of cell that the body needs. Stem cells are undifferentiated. How undifferentiated cells commit to their biological fate. - Adapt.

Metamorphosis is a biological process by which an animal physically develops after birth or hatching, involving a conspicuous and relatively abrupt change in the animal's body structure through cell growth and differentiation. Hibernation.

Decellularization is the process used in biomedical engineering to isolate the extracellular matrix (ECM) of a tissue from its inhabiting cells, leaving an ECM scaffold of the original tissue, which can be used in artificial organ and tissue regeneration.

Embryonic Stem Cell are pluripotent stem cells derived from the inner cell mass of a blastocyst, an early-stage preimplantation embryo. Human embryos reach the blastocyst stage 4–5 days post fertilization, at which time they consist of 50–150 cells. Isolating the embryoblast or inner cell mass (ICM) results in destruction of the blastocyst, which raises ethical issues, including whether or not embryos at the pre-implantation stage should be considered to have the same moral or legal status as more developed human beings.

Amniotic Fluid is a rich source of Stem Cells that can now be Harvested

Amniotic Fluid is the protective liquid contained by the amniotic sac of a Gravid Amniote. This fluid serves as a cushion for the growing fetus, but also serves to facilitate the exchange of nutrients, water, and biochemical products between mother and fetus. For humans, the amniotic fluid is commonly called water or waters (Latin liquor amnii).

Cell Potency is a cell's ability to differentiate into other cell types. The more cell types a cell can differentiate into, the greater its potency. Potency is also described as the gene activation potential within a cell which like a continuum begins with totipotency to designate a cell with the most differentiation potential, pluripotency, multipotency, oligopotency and finally unipotency. Potency is taken from the Latin term "potens" which means "having power".

Zygote is a Eukaryotic Cell formed by a Fertilization event between two gametes. Permeability.

Diploid Cells are found in the somatic cells of our body, and are produced by mitosis. Haploid cells are found in the gametes, or sex cells of our body, and are produced by meiosis.

Cell Nucleus is a membrane-enclosed organelle found in eukaryotic cells. Eukaryotes usually have a single nucleus, but a few cell types, such as mammalian red blood cells, have no nuclei, and a few others have many. Cell nuclei contain most of the cell's genetic material, organized as multiple long linear DNA molecules in complex with a large variety of proteins, such as histones, to form chromosomes. The genes within these chromosomes are the cell's nuclear genome and are structured in such a way to promote cell function. The nucleus maintains the integrity of genes and controls the activities of the cell by regulating gene expression—the nucleus is, therefore, the control center of the cell. The main structures making up the nucleus are the nuclear envelope, a double membrane that encloses the entire organelle and isolates its contents from the cellular cytoplasm, and the nuclear matrix (which includes the nuclear lamina), a network within the nucleus that adds mechanical support, much like the cytoskeleton, which supports the cell as a whole. Because the nuclear membrane is impermeable to large molecules, nuclear pores are required to regulate nuclear transport of molecules across the envelope. The pores cross both nuclear membranes, providing a channel through which larger molecules must be actively transported by carrier proteins while allowing free movement of small molecules and ions. Movement of large molecules such as proteins and RNA through the pores is required for both gene expression and the maintenance of chromosomes. Although the interior of the nucleus does not contain any membrane-bound sub compartments, its contents are not uniform, and a number of sub-nuclear bodies exist, made up of unique proteins, RNA molecules, and particular parts of the chromosomes. The best-known of these is the nucleolus, which is mainly involved in the assembly of ribosomes. After being produced in the nucleolus, ribosomes are exported to the cytoplasm where they translate mRNA.

Scientists turn Skin Cells into Heart Cells and Brain Cells using drugs. Studies represent first purely chemical cellular reprogramming, changing a cell's identity without adding external genes. Embryo Stem Cells created from Skin Cells. Researchers have found a way to transform skin cells into the three major stem cell types that comprise early-stage embryos. Scientists Convert Skin Cells Into Functional Placenta-Generating Cells.

Blastocyst is a structure formed in the early development of mammals. It possesses an inner cell mass (ICM) which subsequently forms the embryo. The outer layer of the blastocyst consists of cells collectively called the trophoblast. This layer surrounds the inner cell mass and a fluid-filled cavity known as the blastocoele. The trophoblast gives rise to the placenta.

Labile Cell are cells that multiply constantly throughout life. The cells are alive for only a short period of time. Due to this, they can end up reproducing new Stem Cells and replace functional cells. Especially if the cells become injured through a process called necrosis, or even if the cells go through apoptosis. The way these cells regenerate and replace themselves is quite unique. While going through cell division, one of the two daughter cells actually becomes a new stem cell. This occurs so then that daughter cell can end up restoring the population of the stem cells that were lost. The other daughter cell separates itself into a functional cell in order to replace the lost, or injured cells during this process. Labile cells are one type of the cells that are involved in the division of cells. The other two types that are involved include stable cells and permanent cells. Each of these type of cells respond to injuries of the cells they occupy differently. Hepatocytes of the liver are thought to be a form of a labile cell because they can regenerate after they become injured. An example of this kind of regeneration can consist of performing a pediatric liver transplant. In which it consists of taking a piece of an adult's liver to replace a child's whole liver. Then the adult liver that was transplanted for the child's, would regenerate very quickly to around a normal size liver. Other cell types that are thought to be cells that are constantly dividing include skin cells, cells in the gastrointestinal tract, and blood cells in the bone marrow. Acting as stem cells for these cell types. In labile cells, it is not a speed-up in the segments of the cell cycle (i.e. G1 phase, S phase, G2 phase and M phase), but rather a short or absent G0 phase that is responsible for the cells' constant division. Muscle Stem Cells.

Stable Cell are cells that multiply only when needed. They spend most of the time in the quiescent G0 phase of the cell cycle, but can be stimulated to enter the cell cycle when needed. Examples include: the liver, the proximal tubules of the kidney, and endocrine glands. T-Cells.

Permanent Cell are cells that are incapable of regeneration. These cells are considered to be terminally differentiated and non proliferative in postnatal life. This includes brain cells, neurons, heart cells, skeletal muscle cells and RBCs.

Fission in biology is the division of a single entity into two or more parts and the regeneration of those parts into separate entities resembling the original. The object experiencing fission is usually a cell, but the term may also refer to how organisms, bodies, populations, or species split into discrete parts. The fission may be binary fission, in which a single entity produces two parts, or multiple fission, in which a single entity produces multiple parts.

Mesenchymal Stem Cell are multipotent stromal cells that can differentiate into a variety of cell types, including: osteoblasts (bone cells), chondrocytes (cartilage cells), myocytes (muscle cells) and adipocytes (fat cells). This phenomenon has been documented in specific cells and tissues in living animals and their counterparts growing in tissue culture.

CFU-GEMM is a colony forming unit that generates myeloid cells. CFU-GEMM cells are the multipotential progenitor cells for myeloid cells; they are thus also called common myeloid progenitor cells or myeloid stem cells. "GEMM" stands for granulocyte, erythrocyte, monocyte, megakaryocyte.

Stem Cell Research - Adipose-derived Mesenchymal

Researchers have used CRISPR-Cas9 to edit long-lived blood stem cells to reverse the clinical symptoms observed with several blood disorders, including sickle cell disease and beta-thalassemia.

Mesenchyme is a type of tissue characterized by loosely associated cells that lack polarity and are surrounded by a large extracellular matrix.

Stromal Cell are connective tissue cells of any organ, for example in the uterine mucosa (endometrium), prostate, bone marrow, lymph node and the ovary. They are cells that support the function of the parenchymal cells of that organ. Fibroblasts and pericytes are among the most common types of stromal cells.

Beta Cell are a type of cell found in the pancreatic islets of the pancreas. They make up 65-80% of the cells in the islets.

Somatic Cell - Germ Cell - Stem Cell Information - Basics

Stem Cell Research (youtube)
Growing Organs (youtube)
Susan Solomon (youtube)
Susan Lim Stem Cells (youtube)

Method of accelerating the Maturation of Stem Cells to form Neurons discovered. Hydrogel can be used as a scaffold for engineering artificial brain tissue and promotes the development of neurons.

All immature cells can develop into stem cells.The study reveals that the destiny of intestinal cells is not predetermined, but instead determined by the cells' surroundings. The findings may make it easier to manipulate stem cells for stem cell therapy.

New Technology to Manipulate Cells could one day help treat Parkinson's, arthritis, other diseases. DNA strands in materials act like traffic signals to start, stop cell activity or regenerate tissue. One of the findings is the possibility of using the synthetic material to signal neural stem cells to proliferate, then at a specific time selected by the operator, trigger their differentiation into neurons and then return the stem cells back to a proliferative state on demand. Spinal cord neural stem cells, initially grouped into structures known as “neurospheres,” can be driven to spread out and differentiate using a signal. But when this signal is switched off, the cells spontaneously re-group themselves into colonies.

Stem Cell Therapy is the use of stem cells to treat or prevent a disease or condition. Gene Therapy.

Scientists have created Expanded Potential Stem Cells (EPSCs) that, for the first time, can produce all three types of blastocyst stem cells - embryo, placenta and yolk sac.

Activating a single gene is sufficient to change skin cells into stem cells using CRISPR Genome Activation.

Computer simulations visualize how DNA converts cells into stem cells. Researchers have revealed how an essential protein helps to activate genomic DNA during the conversion of regular adult human cells into stem cells. A cell's identity is driven by which DNA is "read" or "not read" at any point in time. Signalling in the cell to start or stop reading DNA happens through proteins called transcription factors. Identity changes happen naturally during development as cells transition from an undesignated cell to a specific cell type. As it turns out, these transitions can also be reversed. In 2012, Japanese researchers were awarded the Nobel prize for being the first to push a regular skin cell backwards to a stem cell. One of the main proteins involved in the stem cell generation is a transcription factor called Oct4. It induces gene expression, or activity, of the proteins that 'reset' the adult cell into a stem cell. Those genes induced are inactive in the adult cells and reside in tightly packed, closed states of chromatin, the structure that stores the DNA in the cell nucleus. Oct4 contributes to the opening of chromatin to allow for the expression of the genes. For this, Oct4 is known as a pioneer transcription factor.

Regenocyte

New Stem Cell method produces millions of human brain and Muscle Cells in days. The new platform technology, OPTi-OX, optimizes the way of switching on genes in human stem cells.

Certain placental stem cells can Regenerate heart after heart attack. Stem cells derived from the placenta known as Cdx2 cells can regenerate healthy heart cells after heart attacks in animal models. The Integrated Mitotic Stem Cell.

Development of new stem cell type may lead to advances in regenerative medicine. A team has derived a new 'intermediate' embryonic stem cell type from multiple species that can contribute to chimeras and create precursors to sperm and eggs in a culture dish. Cells in early embryos have a range of distinct pluripotency programs, all of which endow the cells to create various tissue types in the body. A wealth of previous research has focused on developing and characterizing "naïve" embryonic stem cells (those about four days post-fertilization in mice) and "primed" epiblast stem cells (about seven days post-fertilization in mice, shortly after the embryo implants into the uterus). However there's been little progress in deriving and characterizing pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) that exist between these two stages -- largely because researchers have not been able to develop a paradigm for maintaining cells in this intermediate state. Cells in this state have been thought to possess unique properties: the ability to contribute to intraspecies chimeras (organisms that contain a mix of cells from different individuals of the same species) or interspecies chimeras (organisms that contain a mix of cells from different species) and the ability to differentiate into primordial germ cells in culture, the precursors to sperm and eggs. For this study, the researchers successfully created intermediate PSCs, which they named "XPSCs" from mice, horses, and humans.

Regenerate

Regenerative Medicine is a branch of translational research in tissue engineering and molecular biology which deals with the "process of replacing, engineering or regenerating human cells, tissues or organs to restore or establish normal function". This field holds the promise of engineering damaged tissues and organs by stimulating the body's own repair mechanisms to functionally heal previously irreparable tissues or organs. Regenerative medicine also includes the possibility of growing tissues and organs in the laboratory and implanting them when the body cannot heal itself. If a regenerated organ's cells would be derived from the patient's own tissue or cells, this would potentially solve the problem of the shortage of organs available for donation, and the problem of organ transplant rejection. Regenerative Medicine.

Salamanders are capable of regenerating lost limbs, as well as other damaged parts of their bodies. Researchers hope to reverse engineer the remarkable regenerative processes for potential human medical applications, such as brain and spinal cord injury treatment or preventing harmful scarring during heart surgery recovery. Salamanders are a group of amphibians typically characterized by a lizard-like appearance, with slender bodies, blunt snouts, short limbs projecting at right angles to the body, and the presence of a tail in both larvae and adults.

Starfish have the ability to regenerate lost arms and can regrow an entire new limb given time. A few can regrow a complete new disc from a single arm, while others need at least part of the central disc to be attached to the detached part. Regrowth
can take several months or years.

Turritopsis Dohrnii is a species of small, biologically immortal jellyfish found worldwide in temperate to tropic waters. It is one of the few known cases of animals capable of reverting completely to a sexually immature, colonial stage after having reached sexual maturity as a solitary individual. Others include the jellyfish Laodicea undulata and species of the genus Aurelia. Live Forever.

Transdifferentiation is an artificial process in which one mature somatic cell is transformed into another mature somatic cell without undergoing an intermediate pluripotent state or progenitor cell type. It is a type of metaplasia, which includes all cell fate switches, including the interconversion of stem cells. Current uses of transdifferentiation include disease modeling and drug discovery and in the future may include gene therapy and regenerative medicine. The term 'transdifferentiation' was originally coined by Selman and Kafatos in 1974 to describe a change in cell properties as cuticle producing cells became salt-secreting cells in silk moths undergoing metamorphosis.

Resurrection - Hibernation - The Genetics of Regeneration (harvard) - DNA Repair - Resilience

Liver Fix Thyself. How some liver cells switch identities to build missing plumbing. By studying a rare liver disease called Alagille syndrome, scientists discovered the mechanism behind a form of tissue regeneration that may someday reduce the need for organ transplants. Researchers report that when disease or injury causes a shortage in one type of liver cell, the organ can instruct another type of liver cell to change identities to provide replacement supplies. The findings one day may lead to a viable treatment for human disease.

The Liver is the only organ in the body that can Regenerate. But some patients who undergo a liver resection, a surgery that removes a diseased portion of the organ, end up needing a transplant because the renewal process doesn't work. A new study shows that the blood-clotting protein fibrinogen may hold the key as to why this happens. We discovered that fibrinogen accumulates within the remaining liver quickly after surgery and tells platelets to act as first responders, triggering the earliest phase of regeneration.

Regeneration in Humans is the regrowth of lost tissues or organs in response to injury. This is in contrast to wound healing, which involves closing up the injury site with a scar. Some tissues such as skin and large organs including the liver regrow quite readily, while others have been thought to have little or no capacity for regeneration. However ongoing research, particularly in the heart and lungs, suggests that there is hope for a variety of tissues and organs to eventually become regeneration-capable.

A Universal Solution for Regenerative Medicine. Revolutionary Nano-Materials developed at Northwestern could make it possible to repair any part of the body.

Super-Silenced DNA Hints at New Ways to Reprogram Cells in Regenerative Medicine

Cardiac Stem Cells from Young Hearts could Rejuvenate Old Hearts

Researchers Develop Regenerative Medicine Breakthrough. Breakthrough device heals organs with a single touch. Device instantly delivers new DNA or RNA into living skin cells to change their function. Tissue Nanotransfection (TNT), injects genetic code into skin cells, turning those skin cells into other types of cells required for treating diseased conditions. Researchers were able to reprogram skin cells to become vascular cells in badly injured legs that lacked blood flow. Within one week, active blood vessels appeared in the injured leg, and by the second week, the leg was saved.

Bone Regeneration (healing)

A Thermo-Responsive Poly-Diolcitrate-Gelatin Scaffold and delivery system mediates effective bone formation from BMP9-transduced mesenchymal stem cells. PPCN-g. New Material Regrows Bone.

Regeneration is the process of renewal, restoration, and growth that makes genomes, cells, organisms, and ecosystems resilient to natural fluctuations or events that cause disturbance or damage. Every species is capable of regeneration, from bacteria to humans. Regeneration can either be complete where the new tissue is the same as the lost tissue, or incomplete where after the necrotic tissue comes fibrosis. At its most elementary level, regeneration is mediated by the molecular processes of gene regulation. Regeneration in biology, however, mainly refers to the morphogenic processes that characterize the phenotypic plasticity of traits allowing multi-cellular organisms to repair and maintain the integrity of their physiological and morphological states. Above the genetic level, regeneration is fundamentally regulated by asexual cellular processes. Regeneration is different from reproduction. For example, hydra perform regeneration but reproduce by the method of budding. Regeneration in theology is a new life or to be born again from a previous state.

Autotomy or self-amputation is the behaviour whereby an animal sheds or discards one or more of its own appendages, usually as a self-defense mechanism to elude a predator's grasp or to distract the predator and thereby allow escape. Some animals have the ability to regenerate the lost body part later. Autotomy has multiple evolutionary origins and is thought to have evolved at least nine times independently in animalia.

Transforming human Scar Cells into Blood Vessel Cells.

Endothelium (blood) - Adipose Tissue (fat)

Neural Crest cells are a temporary group of cells unique to vertebrates that arise from the embryonic ectoderm cell layer, and in turn give rise to a diverse cell lineage—including melanocytes, craniofacial cartilage and bone, smooth muscle, peripheral and enteric neurons and glia.

A Cellular Biologic Scaffold

Activating the innate immune system opens up the DNA," said Cooke, the study's senior author. " This open state enhances the formation of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) or cells that can have the ability to regenerate into other cell types and tissues, such as that of the brain, heart or liver."

Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell are a type of pluripotent stem cell that can be generated directly from adult cells.

A Universal Solution for Regenerative Medicine Revolutionary nanomaterials developed at Northwestern could make it possible to repair any part of the body.

Cell mechanism that transforms electrical signals into chemical ones explained. Electro-chemical coupling through protein super complexes: The calcium channel (Cav2) delivers calcium ions (Ca2+) that activate the enzyme NO synthase (NOS) for generation of the messenger NO. The enzymes nitric oxide (NO) synthase (NOS1) and protein kinase C (PKC) play an important role in a variety of signal transfer processes in neurons of the brain, as well as in many cell types of other organs. Enzymes can be activated under physiological conditions through sole electrical stimulation of the cell membrane. Protein super complexes that rapidly transform electrical signals at the cell membrane into chemical signal processes inside the cell emerge through direct structural interaction of both enzymes with voltage-gated calcium channels.

Human Skin Cells transformed directly into Motor Neurons. Scientists have converted skin cells from healthy adults directly into motor neurons without going through a stem cell state.

Regeneration of the entire Human Epidermis using Transgenic Stem Cells

Long-Term Stability and Safety of Transgenic Cultured Epidermal Stem Cells in Gene Therapy of Junctional Epidermolysis Bullosa.

Human Cells can also Change Jobs. By inducing non-insulin-producing human pancreatic cells to modify their function to produce insulin in a sustainable way, researchers show for the first time that the adaptive capacity of our cells is much greater than previously thought. Moreover, this plasticity would not be exclusive to human pancreatic cells.

Recording every Cell's history in real-time with evolving Genetic Barcodes. New technique enables creation of a full developmental lineage record for cells in vivo. A new method uses evolving genetic barcodes to actively record the process of cell division in developing mice, enabling the lineage of every cell in a mouse's body to be traced back to its single-celled origin. This approach enables scientists to pinpoint where and when different cells arise and how closely related different cell types are to each other, allowing unprecedented insight into the journey from zygote to adult.

DNA Barcoding is a taxonomic method that uses a short genetic marker in an organism's DNA to identify it as belonging to a particular species. It differs from molecular phylogeny in that the main goal is not to determine patterns of relationship but to identify an unknown sample in terms of a preexisting classification.

Organisms - Multi-Cell

Organism is any contiguous living system, such as an animal, plant, fungus, or bacterium. All known types of organisms are capable of some degree of response to stimuli, reproduction, growth and development and homeostasis. An organism consists of one or more cells; when it has one cell it is known as a unicellular organism; and when it has more than one cell it is known as a multicellular organism. Most unicellular organisms are of microscopic size and are thus classified as microorganisms. Humans are multicellular organisms composed of many trillions of cells grouped into specialized tissues and organs.

Unicellular - Single-Celled Organism

Eukaryote - Prokaryote - Physiology

Multicellular Organism are organisms that consist of more than one cell, in contrast to unicellular organisms. All species of animals, land plants and most fungi are multicellular, as are many algae, whereas a few organisms are partially uni- and partially multicellular, like slime molds and social amoebae such as the genus Dictyostelium. Multicellular organisms arise in various different ways, for example by cell division or by aggregation of many single cells. Colonial organisms are the result of many identical individuals joining together to form a colony. However, it can often be hard to separate colonial protists from true multicellular organisms, because the two concepts are not distinct; colonial protists have been dubbed "pluricellular" rather than "multicellular".

Protist is any eukaryotic organism that is not an animal, plant or fungus. The protists do not form a natural group, or clade, but are often grouped together for convenience, like algae or invertebrates. In some systems of biological classification, such as the popular five-kingdom scheme.

Anaerobic Organism is any organism that does not require oxygen for growth. It may react negatively or even die if oxygen is present. In contrast, an Aerobic Organism (aerobe) is an organism that can survive and grow in an oxygenated environment.

Microbe or Microorganism is a microscopic organism, which may be single-celled or multicellular. The study of microorganisms is called microbiology, viewing plant cells under a microscope. Microorganisms are very diverse and include all bacteria, archaea and most protozoa. This group also contains some fungi, algae, and some micro-animals such as rotifers. Many macroscopic animals and plants have microscopic juvenile stages. Some microbiologists classify viruses and viroids as microorganisms, but others consider these as nonliving. In July 2016, scientists identified a set of 355 genes from the last universal common ancestor of all life, including microorganisms, living on Earth. Microorganisms live in every part of the biosphere, including soil, hot springs, inside rocks at least 19 km (12 mi) deep underground, the deepest parts of the ocean, and at least 64 km (40 mi) high in the atmosphere. Microorganisms, under certain test conditions, have been observed to thrive in the vacuum of outer space. Microorganisms likely far outweigh all other living things combined. The mass of prokaryote microorganisms including the bacteria and archaea may be as much as 0.8 trillion tons of carbon, out of the total biomass of between 1 and 4 trillion tons. Microorganisms appear to thrive in the Mariana Trench, the deepest spot in the Earth's oceans. Other researchers reported related studies that microorganisms thrive inside rocks up to 580 m (1,900 ft; 0.36 mi) below the sea floor under 2,590 m (8,500 ft; 1.61 mi) of ocean off the coast of the northwestern United States, as well as 2,400 m (7,900 ft; 1.5 mi) beneath the seabed off Japan. In August 2014, scientists confirmed the existence of microorganisms living 800 m (2,600 ft; 0.50 mi) below the ice of Antarctica. According to one researcher, "You can find microbes everywhere — they're extremely adaptable to conditions, and survive wherever they are." Microorganisms are crucial to nutrient recycling in ecosystems as they act as decomposers. As some microorganisms can fix nitrogen, they are a vital part of the nitrogen cycle, and recent studies indicate that airborne microorganisms may play a role in precipitation and weather. Microorganisms are also exploited in biotechnology, both in traditional food and beverage preparation, and in modern technologies based on genetic engineering. A small proportion of microorganisms are pathogenic, causing disease and even death in plants and animals.

A Microbe's Membrane helps it Survive Extreme Environments. Stanford University researchers have identified a protein that helps these organisms form a protective, lipid-linked cellular membrane -- a key to withstanding extremely highly acidic habitats. A group of microbes called archaea "third domain of life," were surrounded by a membrane made of different chemical components than those of bacteria, plants or animals.

Human Microbes

Model Organism is a non-human species that is extensively studied to understand particular biological phenomena, with the expectation that discoveries made in the organism model will provide insight into the workings of other organisms. Model organisms are in vivo models and are widely used to research human disease when human experimentation would be unfeasible or unethical. This strategy is made possible by the common descent of all living organisms, and the conservation of metabolic and developmental pathways and genetic material over the course of evolution.

Polyploidy is the state of a cell or organism having more than two paired sets of chromosomes. Most species whose cells have nuclei are diploid, meaning they have two sets of chromosomes—one set inherited from each parent. However, some organisms are polyploid, and polyploidy is especially common in plants.

Polyphyly is a set of organisms, or other evolving elements, that have been grouped together based on characteristics that do not imply that they share a common ancestor that is not also the common ancestor of many other taxa (of course, if "life" is monophyletic, then any set of organisms shares a common ancestor at some point back in the root of the tree). The term is often applied to groups that share similar features known as homoplasies, which are explained as a result of convergent evolution. The arrangement of the members of a polyphyletic group is called a polyphyly. Alternatively, polyphyletic is simply used to describe a group whose members come from multiple ancestral sources, regardless of similarity of characteristics. For example, the biological characteristic of warm-bloodedness evolved separately in the ancestors of mammals and the ancestors of birds. Other polyphyletic groups are for example algae, C4 photosynthetic plants, and edentates. Many biologists aim to avoid homoplasies in grouping taxa together and therefore it is frequently a goal to eliminate groups that are found to be polyphyletic. This is often the stimulus for major revisions of the classification schemes. Researchers concerned more with ecology than with systematics may take polyphyletic groups as legitimate subject matter; the similarities in activity within the fungus group Alternaria, for example, can lead researchers to regard the group as a valid genus while acknowledging its polyphyly. In recent research, the concepts of monophyly, paraphyly, and polyphyly have been used in deducing key genes for barcoding of diverse group of species.

Biofilm is any group of microorganisms in which cells stick to each other and often these cells adhere to a surface. These adherent cells are frequently embedded within a self-produced matrix of extracellular polymeric substance (EPS). Biofilm extracellular polymeric substance, which is also referred to as slime (although not everything described as slime is a biofilm), is a polymeric conglomeration generally composed of extracellular DNA, proteins, and polysaccharides. Biofilms may form on living or non-living surfaces and can be prevalent in natural, industrial and hospital settings. The microbial cells growing in a biofilm are physiologically distinct from planktonic cells of the same organism, which, by contrast, are single-cells that may float or swim in a liquid medium. Microbes form a biofilm in response to many factors, which may include cellular recognition of specific or non-specific attachment sites on a surface, nutritional cues, or in some cases, by exposure of planktonic cells to sub-inhibitory concentrations of antibiotics. When a cell switches to the biofilm mode of growth, it undergoes a phenotypic shift in behavior in which large suites of genes are differentially regulated.

Biopolymer are polymers produced by living organisms; in other words, they are polymeric biomolecules. Since they are polymers, biopolymers contain monomeric units that are covalently bonded to form larger structures. There are three main classes of biopolymers, classified according to the monomeric units used and the structure of the biopolymer formed: polynucleotides (RNA and DNA), which are long polymers composed of 13 or more nucleotide monomers; polypeptides, which are short polymers of amino acids; and polysaccharides, which are often linear bonded polymeric carbohydrate structures. Cellulose is the most common organic compound and biopolymer on Earth. About 33 percent of all plant matter is cellulose. The cellulose content of cotton is 90 percent, for wood is 50 percent.

Biosynthesis is a multi-step, enzyme-catalyzed process where substrates are converted into more complex products in living organisms. In biosynthesis, simple compounds are modified, converted into other compounds, or joined together to form macromolecules. This process often consists of metabolic pathways. Some of these biosynthetic pathways are located within a single cellular organelle, while others involve enzymes that are located within multiple cellular organelles. Examples of these biosynthetic pathways include the production of lipid membrane components and nucleotides. The prerequisite elements for biosynthesis include: precursor compounds, chemical energy (e.g. ATP), and catalytic enzymes which may require coenzymes (e.g.NADH, NADPH). These elements create monomers, the building blocks for macromolecules. Some important biological macromolecules include: proteins, which are composed of amino acid monomers joined via peptide bonds, and DNA molecules, which are composed of nucleotides joined via phosphodiester bonds.

Methanogen are microorganisms that produce methane as a metabolic byproduct in anoxic conditions.

Hypoxia in the environmental refers to low oxygen conditions. Normally, 20.9% of the gas in the atmosphere is oxygen.

Lithoautotroph is a microbe which derives energy from reduced compounds of mineral origin.

Lithotroph are a diverse group of organisms using inorganic substrate (usually of mineral origin) to obtain reducing equivalents for use in biosynthesis (e.g., carbon dioxide fixation) or energy conservation (i.e., ATP production) via aerobic or anaerobic respiration. Known chemolithotrophs are exclusively microbes; no known macrofauna possesses the ability to utilize inorganic compounds as energy sources.

Single-Celled Organisms - Micro-Organisms

Unicellular Organism also known as a single-celled organism, is an organism that consists of only one cell, unlike a multicellular organism that consists of more than one cell. Historically, simple unicellular organisms have been referred to as monads, though this term is also used more specifically to describe organisms of the genus Monas and similar flagellate ameboids. The main groups of unicellular organisms are bacteria, archaea, protozoa, unicellular algae, and unicellular fungi. Unicellular organisms fall into two general categories: prokaryotic organisms and eukaryotic organisms. Unicellular organisms are thought to be the oldest form of life, with early protocells possibly emerging 3.8–4 billion years ago

Archaea constitute a domain and kingdom of single-celled microorganisms. These microbes (archaea; singular archaeon) are prokaryotes, meaning that they have no cell nucleus or any other membrane-bound organelles in their cells.

Eukaryote is any organism whose cells contain a Nucleus and other organelles enclosed within membranes. Eukaryotes belong to the taxon Eukarya or Eukaryota. The defining feature that sets eukaryotic cells apart from prokaryotic cells (Bacteria and Archaea) is that they have membrane-bound organelles, especially the nucleus, which contains the genetic material and is enclosed by the nuclear envelope. The presence of a nucleus gives eukaryotes their name.

Protozoa is an informal term for single-celled eukaryotes, either free-living or parasitic, which feed on organic matter such as other microorganisms or organic tissues and debris. Historically, the protozoa were regarded as "one-celled animals", because they often possess animal-like behaviors, such as motility and predation, and lack a cell wall, as found in plants and many algae. Although the traditional practice of grouping protozoa with animals is no longer considered valid, the term continues to be used in a loose way to identify single-celled organisms that can move independently and feed by heterotrophy. Symmetry.

Geogemma Barossii is a single-celled microbe of the domain Archaea. First discovered 200 miles (320 km) off Puget Sound near a hydrothermal vent, it is a hyperthermophile, able to reproduce at 121 °C (250 °F), hence its name.

Neutrophile is a neutrophilic organism that thrives in a neutral pH environment between 6.5 and 7.5.

Mesophile is an organism that grows best in moderate temperature, neither too hot nor too cold, typically between 20 and 45 °C (68 and 113 °F).

Biogeo Sciences researching the interactions between the biological, chemical, and physical processes in terrestrial or extraterrestrial life with the geosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere.

Cilium is an organelle found on eukaryotic cells and are slender protuberances that project from the much larger cell body. There are two types of cilia: motile cilia and nonmotile, or primary, cilia, which typically serve as sensory organelles. In eukaryotes, motile cilia and flagella together make up a group of organelles known as undulipodia. Eukaryotic cilia are structurally identical to eukaryotic flagella, although distinctions are sometimes made according to function and/or length. Biologists have various ideas about how the various flagella may have evolved. Cilia beat to an unexpected rhythm in male reproductive tract.

Prokaryote is a unicellular organism that lacks a membrane-bound nucleus (karyon), mitochondria, or any other membrane-bound organelle.

Prokaryotic DNA Replication is the process by which a prokaryote duplicates its entire genome into another copy that is passed on to daughter cells. Although it is often studied in the model organism E. coli, other bacteria show many similarities. Replication is bi-directional and originates at a single origin of replication (OriC). It consists of three steps: Initiation, elongation, and termination. DNA replication begins at the origin of replication, a region commonly containing repeating sequences (DnaA boxes) that bind DnaA, an initiation protein. DnaA-ATP will first bind high-affinity boxes (R1, R2, and R4, which have a highly conserved 9 bp consensus sequence 5' - TTATCCACA - 3'), then oligomerize into several low-affinity boxes. This accumulation will displace a protein called Fis, allowing another protein, IHF, to bind the DNA and induce a bend. This bend allows the DnaA chain to load onto an AT-rich region of 13-mers (the DUE, Duplex unwinding element), causing the double-stranded DNA to separate. The DnaC helicase loader will interact with the DnaA on the single-stranded DNA to recruit the DnaB helicase, which will continue to unwind the DNA as the DnaG primase lays down an RNA primer and DNA Polymerase III holoenzyme begins elongation. Mutations.

Complex Archaea that bridge the gap between Prokaryotes and Eukaryotes

Histology is the study of the microscopic anatomy (microanatomy) of cells and tissues of plants and animals.

Dormancy is a period in an organism's life cycle when physical activity are temporarily stopped.

Glass formation in plant anhydrobiotes: survival in the dry state
Cytoplasmic viscosity near the cell plasma membrane: measurement by evanescent field frequency-domain microfluorimetry.

Microfluorimetry is an adaption of fluorimetry for studying the biochemical and biophysical properties of cells by using microscopy to image cell components tagged with fluorescent molecules. It is a type of microphotometry that gives a quantitative measure of the qualitative nature of fluorescent measurement and therefore, allows for definitive results that would have been previously indiscernible to the naked eye.

Intracellular glasses and seed survival in the dry state
Building Blocks of Life

How did the chemistry of simple carbon-based molecules lead to the information storage of ribonucleic acid, or RNA? The RNA molecule must store information to code for proteins. (Proteins in biology do more than build muscle — they also regulate a host of processes in the body.) 

List of Interstellar and Circumstellar Molecules. This is a list of molecules that have been detected in the interstellar medium and circumstellar envelopes, grouped by the number of component atoms. The chemical formula is listed for each detected compound, along with any ionized form that has also been observed.

Hypertrophy is the increase in the volume of an organ or tissue due to the enlargement of its component cells. It is distinguished from hyperplasia, in which the cells remain approximately the same size but increase in number. Although hypertrophy and hyperplasia are two distinct processes, they frequently occur together, such as in the case of the hormonally-induced proliferation and enlargement of the cells of the uterus during pregnancy. Eccentric hypertrophy is a type of hypertrophy where the walls and chamber of a hollow organ undergo growth in which the overall size and volume are enlarged. It is applied especially to the left ventricle of heart. Sarcomeres are added in series, as for example in dilated cardiomyopathy (in contrast to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a type of concentric hypertrophy, where sarcomeres are added in parallel).

Swapped human genes into the genetic code used by common yeast cells found that the cells could continue to function and grow. 

Systematic humanization of yeast genes reveals conserved functions and genetic modularity.

Stentor Coeruleus is a protist in the family Stentoridae which is characterized by being a very large ciliate that measures 0.5 to 2 millimetres when fully extended. The genome sequence revealed two remarkable aspects. The genetic code is the "universal" code, which is somewhat unusual for ciliates. Also, the introns are unusually small, only 15 or 16 nucleotides long. Stentor coeruleus are capable of sexual reproduction, or conjugation, but primarily reproduce asexually by binary fission. Stentors: Single-Celled Giants (youtube)

The Blob can Learn - and Teach ! It isn't an animal, a plant, or a fungus. The Slime Mold (Physarum polycephalum) is a strange, creeping, bloblike organism made up of one giant cell. Though it has no brain, it can learn from experience, as biologists at the Research Centre on Animal Cognition. Imagine you could temporarily fuse with someone, acquire that person's knowledge, and then split off to become your separate self again, you don't have to imagine because that is what schools are supposed to do, but fail to understand the process.

Polychaos dubium is a freshwater amoeboid and one of the larger species of single-celled eukaryote. Like other amoebozoans, P. dubium moves by means of temporary projections called pseudopods. P. dubium reportedly has one of the largest genome size of any organism known. Polychaos dubium has one of the largest genomes known for any organism, consisting of 670 billion base pairs or 670 Gbp, which is over 200 times larger than the human genome (3.2 Gbp or gigabase pairs). Polychaos dubium was previously known as Amoeba dubia. The author who named the species later recognized it as different from species of Amoeba, and so designated it the type species of the genus Polychaos. Unlike species of Amoeba, P. dubium lacks longitudinal ridges on its pseudopods.

A single-celled organism capable of learning.

Habituation is a form of learning in which an organism decreases or ceases to respond to a stimulus after repeated presentations. Essentially, the organism learns to stop responding to a stimulus which is no longer biologically relevant. For example, organisms may habituate to repeated sudden loud noises when they learn these have no consequences. Habituation usually refers to a reduction in innate behaviors, rather than behaviors developed during conditioning in which the process is termed "extinction", which is a conditioning process in which the reinforcer is removed and a conditioned response becomes independent of the conditioned stimulus.

Metaorganisms

Organelles is a specialized subunit within a cell that has a specific function. Individual organelles are usually separately enclosed within their own lipid bilayers.

Organisms that can Live in Extreme Environments

Extremophile is an organism that thrives in physically or geochemically extreme conditions that are detrimental to most life on Earth. In contrast, organisms that live in more moderate environments may be termed mesophiles or neutrophiles. Deep Ocean Life - Biology.

Hyperthermophile is an organism that thrives in extremely hot environments—from 60 °C (140 °F) upwards. An optimal temperature for the existence of hyperthermophiles is above 80 °C (176 °F). Hyperthermophiles are often within the domain Archaea, although some bacteria are able to tolerate temperatures of around 100 °C (212 °F), as well. Some bacteria can live at temperatures higher than 100 °C at large depths in sea where water does not boil because of high pressure. Many hyperthermophiles are also able to withstand other environmental extremes such as high acidity or high radiation levels. Hyperthermophiles are a subset of extremophiles. Resurrection Plants.

Deinococcus Radiodurans is an extremophilic bacterium and one of the most radiation-resistant organisms known. It can survive cold, dehydration, vacuum, and acid, and therefore, is known as a polyextremophile and it has been listed as the world's toughest known bacterium in The Guinness Book Of World Records. DNA Repair - Knowledge Preservation.

Radioresistance is the level of ionizing radiation that organisms are able to withstand. Ionizing-radiation-resistant organisms (IRRO) were defined as organisms for which the dose of acute ionizing radiation (IR) required to achieve 90% reduction (D10) is greater than 1000 gray (Gy). Radioresistance is surprisingly high in many organisms, in contrast to previously held views. For example, the study of environment, animals and plants around the Chernobyl disaster area has revealed an unexpected survival of many species, despite the high radiation levels. A Brazilian study in a hill in the state of Minas Gerais which has high natural radiation levels from uranium deposits, has also shown many radioresistant insects, worms and plants. Certain extremophiles, such as the bacteria Deinococcus radiodurans and the tardigrades, can withstand large doses of ionizing radiation on the order of 5,000 Gy.

Microbial space travel on a molecular scale. How extremophilic bacteria survive in space for one year. Galactic cosmic and solar UV radiation, extreme vacuum, temperature fluctuations. How can microbes exposed to these challenges in space survive? Scientists investigated how the space-surviving microbes could physically survive the transfer from one celestial body to another.

Radiotrophic Fungus are fungi which appear to perform radiosynthesis, that is, to use the pigment melanin to convert gamma radiation into chemical energy for growth. This proposed mechanism may be similar to anabolic pathways for the synthesis of reduced organic carbon (e.g., carbohydrates) in phototrophic organisms, which convert photons from visible light with pigments such as chlorophyll whose energy is then used in photolysis of water to generate usable chemical energy (as ATP) in photophosphorylation or photosynthesis. However, whether melanin-containing fungi employ a similar multi-step pathway as photosynthesis, or some chemosynthesis pathways, is unknown.

Bacteria

Bacteria constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length. Bacteria have a number of shapes, ranging from spheres to rods and spirals. Bacteria were among the first life forms to appear on Earth, and are present in most of its habitats. Bacteria inhabit soil, water, acidic hot springs, radioactive waste, and the deep portions of Earth's crust. Bacteria also live in symbiotic and parasitic relationships with plants and animals.

Germs - Viruses

Cyanobacteria is a phylum of bacteria that obtain their energy through photosynthesis, and are the only photosynthetic prokaryotes able to produce oxygen. The name "cyanobacteria" comes from the color of the bacteria (Greek: κυανός (kyanós) = blue). Sometimes, they are called blue-green algae, and incorrectly so, because cyanobacteria are prokaryotes and the term "algae" is reserved for eukaryotes. Like other prokaryotes, cyanobacteria have no membrane-sheathed organelles. Photosynthesis is performed in distinctive folds in the outer membrane of the cell (unlike green plants which use organelles adapted for this specific role, called chloroplasts). Biologists commonly agree that chloroplasts found in eukaryotes have their ancestry in cyanobacteria, via a process called endosymbiosis. By producing oxygen as a byproduct of photosynthesis, cyanobacteria are thought to have converted the early oxygen-poor, reducing atmosphere, into an oxidizing one, causing the "rusting of the Earth" and the Great Oxygenation Event, that dramatically changed the composition of life forms and led to the near-extinction of anaerobic organisms.

Circular DNA is DNA that forms a closed loop and has no ends.

Circular Bacterial Chromosome is a bacterial chromosome in the form of a molecule of circular DNA. Unlike the linear DNA of most eukaryotes, typical bacterial chromosomes are circular. Most bacterial chromosomes contain a circular DNA molecule – there are no free ends to the DNA. Free ends would otherwise create significant challenges to cells with respect to DNA replication and stability. Cells that do contain chromosomes with DNA ends, or telomeres (most eukaryotes), have acquired elaborate mechanisms to overcome these challenges. However, a circular chromosome can provide other challenges for cells. After replication, the two progeny circular chromosomes can sometimes remain interlinked or tangled, and they must be resolved so that each cell inherits one complete copy of the chromosome during cell division.

DNA Supercoil refers to the over- or under-winding of a DNA strand, and is an expression of the strain on that strand. Supercoiling is important in a number of biological processes, such as compacting DNA, and by regulating access to the genetic code, DNA supercoiling strongly affects DNA metabolism and possibly gene expression. Additionally, certain enzymes such as topoisomerases are able to change DNA topology to facilitate functions such as DNA replication or transcription. Mathematical expressions are used to describe supercoiling by comparing different coiled states to relaxed B-form DNA.

Linear Chromosome is a type of chromosome, found in most eukaryotic cells, in which the DNA is arranged in multiple linear molecules of DNA.. In contrast, most prokaryotic cells contain circular chromosomes, where the DNA is arranged in one large circular molecule. However, linear chromosomes are not limited to eukaryotic organisms; some prokaryotic organisms do have linear chromosomes as well, such as Borrelia burgdorferi. It is possible to take a prokaryotic cell with a circular chromosome, linearize the chromosome, and still have a viable organism.

Nucleic Acid Double Helix refers to the structure formed by double-stranded molecules of nucleic acids such as DNA. The double helical structure of a nucleic acid complex arises as a consequence of its secondary structure, and is a fundamental component in determining its tertiary structure.

Stromatolite are layered mounds, columns, and sheet-like sedimentary rocks that were originally formed by the growth of layer upon layer of cyanobacteria, a single-celled photosynthesizing microbe. Fossilized tromatolites provide records of ancient life on Earth. Lichen stromatolites are a proposed mechanism of formation of some kinds of layered rock structure that are formed above water, where rock meets air, by repeated colonization of the rock by endolithic lichens.

New Technique Pinpoints Milestones in the Evolution of Bacteria. Bacteria have evolved all manner of adaptations to live in every habitat on Earth. But unlike plants and animals, which can be preserved as fossils, bacteria have left behind little physical evidence of their evolution, making it difficult for scientists to determine exactly when different groups of bacteria evolved.

Primordial Soup

Premordial Life or Abiogenesis is said to be a natural process of life arising from non-living matter, such as simple organic compounds. Primordial Soup is thought to have occurred on Earth between 3.8 and 4.1 billion years ago. How can abiogenesis be a natural process when you have no proof and no other planet to compare it to. Information does not come from nothing, this information had to originate from somewhere.

Origin of life insight: Peptides can form without amino acids. - Building Blocks.

In a world's first, scientists are able to control a chemical reaction that precisely transforms two atoms into a single molecule. Using laser tweezers, a team of Harvard University scientist nudges one sodium and one cesium together to form a molecule. The achievement is particularly exceptional because these two elements would not normally form a molecule. The combination of the two atoms remarkably resulted in an alloy-like molecule. Most especially of all, however, it becomes a material that can advance the use of quantum computing. As a rule, molecules are only made when numerous atoms are bonded together during a chemical reaction. In the past, chemists were only able to create molecules after marrying clusters of atoms. However, Kang-Kuen Ni, an assistant professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology in Harvard, and his colleagues have disrupted it by using the laser stimulus as the main mechanism for the chemical reaction to take place. Atom Structure: In conducting the experiment, the team had cooled the sodium and cesium to extremely low temperatures where new quantum phases of gas, liquid, and solid emerged in other similar trials. The scientists then captured the atoms by using the laser tweezers and merged them through a process they called "optical dipole trap." At this stage, the laser beams stimulated the two atoms. Once stimulated, they created a molecule, which the scientists identified as "dipolar molecule." "What we have done differently is to create more control over it (chemical reaction)... The whole process is happening in an ultra-high vacuum with very low density," Ni says in the paper published in Science. The Future Of Quantum Computing. Ni explains that their discovery contributes greatly to the advancement of quantum computing because the dipolar molecule also introduces a new type of "qubit," which is the smallest quantum information. This result has become their ultimate achievement from the experiment. "...the molecular space is so huge, we cannot sufficiently explore it with current computers. If we have quantum computers that could potentially solve complex problems and explore molecular space efficiently, the impact will be large," says Ni. Quantum computing may one day lead to revolutionary breakthroughs in the different field of studies. It can design complex systems, which include artificial intelligence. It can also solve molecular and chemical reactions that may lead to the discovery of new medicines. Computer manufacturing company IBM anticipates as well that quantum computing will be integral in the financial industry by isolating global risks that may impact investments. 2018.

Building one Molecule from a reservoir of two Atoms - GMO - Lab Grown

Synthetic Life - Craig Venter (video and text) - The first synthetic cell, a cell made by starting with the digital code in the computer, building the chromosome from four bottles of chemicals, assembling that chromosome in yeast, transplanting it into a recipient bacterial cell and transforming that cell into a new bacterial species. So this is the first self-replicating species that we've had on the planet whose parent is a computer. It also is the first species to have its own website encoded in its genetic code. But we'll talk more about the watermarks in a minute.  Can We Create Brand New Life In The Lab? (youtube) - This is not creating life from just atoms, they are using parts of life that already exist. The next species of human | Juan Enriquez (youtube, 2009).

Pyramid of Complexity - Atoms - Molecules - DNA - Microbes

Size Variations - Nano Machines - Central Nervous System - Electricity - Human Energy

Scientists try to Build Cells from scratch. Various scientists around the world are trying to build cells from scratch. Marileen Dogterom has been piecing together a cytoskeleton in the Netherlands. Kate Adamala is attaching receptors to a lipid bilayer in Minnesota. And Tetsuya Yomo built RNA that can evolve like the real thing in Japan. But by and large they’ve been working independently on different cell parts. Now, a growing number of collaborations are melding these efforts together and speeding progress toward an audacious goal: Building a living cell out of non-living molecules. Top-down and bottom-up: Earlier this year in 2017, researchers at the J. Craig Venter Institute announced that they had created a minimal bacterial cell — a Mycoplasma bacteria that contained just enough genes to stay alive. That number is 473. Snip one more gene off, and the bacteria won’t work properly. Add an extra gene, and now the bacteria is carrying unnecessary baggage. But, at the time of the study’s publication, the scientists only knew the function that 324 those genes actually served. The remaining 149 did something to keep the cell chugging along, but scientists don’t know what. This “top-down” approach — starting with an object in nature and shaving off bits and pieces until you arrive at what is fundamental to that form of life — has gotten scientists pretty far, but has left them with a handful of genes they know are necessary but whose specific functions are unclear. A complementary method would be to construct a cell “bottom up” from constituent parts — a mitochondrion here, some ribosomes there — ensuring that you know exactly what you were putting into the cell and what purpose it serves. So far, Dogterom’s microtubules don’t really come from scratch — they’re formed from tubulin proteins derived from pig brains. Tubulin proteins assemble themselves into 13-sided prisms — the microtubule structure — when left unattended. Trying to make cells from their basic building blocks, without limiting oneself to how those blocks happen to be arranged on Earth, might also help scientists identify extraterrestrial life.

Tree of Life - Phylogenetic Tree

"Bacteria looks the same as bacteria of the same region from 2.3 billion years ago—and that both sets of ancient bacteria are indistinguishable from modern sulfur bacteria found in mud off of the coast of Chile."

Evolution Tree of Life Poster (image)

"Life has been using a standard set of 20 Amino Acids to build Proteins for more than 3 billion years"  ~ Quoted by Stephen J. Freeland of the NASA Astrobiology Institute at the University of Hawaii.

Remnants of an Ancient Metabolism without Phosphate.

Phylogenetic Tree is a branching diagram or "tree" showing the inferred evolutionary relationships among various biological species or other entities—their phylogeny—based upon similarities and differences in their physical or genetic characteristics. The taxa joined together in the tree are implied to have descended from a common ancestor. Phylogenetic trees are central to the field of phylogenetics.

New Updated Tree of Life (image)

Phylogenetic Network is any graph used to visualize evolutionary relationships (either abstractly or explicitly) between nucleotide sequences, genes, chromosomes, genomes, or species. They are employed when reticulation events such as hybridization, horizontal gene transfer, recombination, or gene duplication and loss are believed to be involved. They differ from phylogenetic trees by the explicit modeling of richly-linked networks, by means of the addition of hybrid nodes (nodes with two parents) instead of only tree nodes (a hierarchy of nodes, each with only one parent). Phylogenetic trees are a subset of phylogenetic networks. Phylogenetic networks can be inferred and visualised with software such as SplitsTree and, more recently, Dendroscope. A standard format for representing phylogenetic networks is a variant of Newick format which is extended to support networks as well as trees.

Molecular Phylogenetics is the branch of phylogeny that analyses hereditary molecular differences, mainly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships.

Molecular Systematics is the use of molecular genetics to study the evolution of relationships among individuals and species. The goal of systematic studies is to provide insight into the history of groups of organisms and the evolutionary processes that create diversity among species.

Porphyrian Tree is a classic device for illustrating what is also called a "scale of being" which indicates that a species is defined by a genus and a differentia and that this logical process continues until the lowest species is reached, which can no longer be so defined.

Open Tree - Open Tree of Life

Pedigree Chart is a diagram that shows the occurrence and appearance or phenotypes of a particular gene or organism and its ancestors from one generation to the next, most commonly humans, show dogs, and race horses.

Pyramid of Complexity

Connected - Associations - Building Blocks of Life - Mind Maps

Taxonomy

Tree of Life is a widespread mytheme or archetype in the world's mythologies, related to the concept of sacred tree more generally, and hence in religious and philosophical tradition.

Great Chain of Being is a strict, religious hierarchical structure of all matter and life, believed to have been decreed by God. The chain starts from God and progresses downward to angels, demons (fallen/renegade angels), stars, moon, kings, princes, nobles, commoners, wild animals, domesticated animals, trees, other plants, precious stones, precious metals, and other minerals.

Microbes in Humans

Falsifying Phylogeny (youtube)

Parsimony is an optimality criterion under which the phylogenetic tree that minimizes the total number of character-state changes is to be preferred. Under the maximum-parsimony criterion, the optimal tree will minimize the amount of homoplasy (i.e., convergent evolution, parallel evolution, and evolutionary reversals). In other words, under this criterion, the shortest possible tree that explains the data is considered best. The principle is akin to Occam's razor, which states that—all else being equal—the simplest hypothesis that explains the data should be selected.

Phylogeny Archive - Arizona Tree of Life Web Project

Binary Fission is the division of a single entity into two or more parts and the regeneration of those parts into separate entities resembling the original. The object experiencing fission is usually a cell, but the term may also refer to how organisms, bodies, populations, or species split into discrete parts. The fission may be binary fission, in which a single entity produces two parts, or multiple fission, in which a single entity produces multiple parts.

500 Million years ago was the Cambrian Explosion - Earth Timeline

Transitional Fossils is a tentative partial list of transitional fossils (fossil remains of groups that exhibits both "primitive" and derived traits). The fossils are listed in series, showing the transition from one group to another, representing significant steps in the evolution of major features in various lineages. These changes often represent major changes in morphology and anatomy, related to mode of life, like the acquisition of feathered wings for an aerial lifestyle in birds, or limbs in the fish/tetrapod transition onto land.

The Missing Link

Richard Dawkins: Intermediate Fossils (youtube) - Darwin's Dilemma

Descriptive Complexity Theory is a branch of computational complexity theory and of finite model theory that characterizes complexity classes by the type of logic needed to express the languages in them.

Evolution of Biological Complexity - Earth Botany

Most Animals Start out the Same Way, but they never end the same way.

Horizontal Gene Transfer is the movement of genetic material between unicellular and/or multicellular organisms other than via vertical transmission (the transmission of DNA from parent to offspring.) HGT is synonymous with lateral gene transfer (LGT) and the terms are interchangeable. HGT has been shown to be an important factor in the evolution of many organisms. Horizontal gene transfer is the primary reason for the spread of antibiotic resistance in bacteria and plays an important role in the evolution of bacteria that can degrade novel compounds such as human-created pesticides and in the evolution, maintenance, and transmission of virulence. This horizontal gene transfer often involves temperate bacteriophages and plasmids. Genes that are responsible for antibiotic resistance in one species of bacteria can be transferred to another species of bacteria through various mechanisms such as F-pilus, subsequently arming the antibiotic resistant genes' recipient against antibiotics, which is becoming a medical challenge to deal with. Most thinking in genetics has focused upon vertical transfer, but there is a growing awareness that horizontal gene transfer is a highly significant phenomenon and among single-celled organisms, perhaps the dominant form of genetic transfer. Artificial horizontal gene transfer is a form of genetic engineering.

The tree of life does not say you grew out of bacteria, the tree of life is the biological history of planet earth, things that we have learned so far. The tree of life shows the path that certain information took, or transcended from. The tree of life shows some of the things that we and other life forms are made out of, not grew out of, but made out of. If you were creating advanced animal life, you would want animals made out of certain things like bacteria, things that have learned to survive for millions of years. This is more then a symbiotic relationship with microbes, this is the blueprint for life, use the strongest material available, give life the ability to adapt, to evolve and to learn. Intelligent Design.

The responsibility of life is now in our hands. Humans have been given the ability to manually adjust information, which gives life even more chances to survive, pure genius. But this ability is also a vulnerability when the controls of information are manipulated. This is pure hell when the ability to manually adjust information causes death and destruction, all because the information being adjusted reduces our chances of survival, like pollution that poisons the water, land and air. There is also corruption. Bad information is cancer, actions being made based on bad information. Bad cells are multiplying when bad cells should be dying.