A new Nature paper detonated one of the biggest assumptions in evolution.

The read-between-the-lines upshot: complex life may be far easier to evolve on other planets than we thought—because it arose 700 million years before mitochondria in an anaerobic world

#evolution #cellbiology #exobiology

Every day I tell patients to use Krazy Glue on their painful skin cracks. Every day they ask me "is that safe?!"

Find out why!

#evolution #senses #olfaction #dermatology

15 to 75 percent of Earth’s biomass lies buried below the sea, where bacteria divide only once every ten million years.

Life becomes a room filled with crank toys— wound over millions of years. When the time comes to replicate DNA, the monkey bangs its cymbals and jolts the room to life.

#deeptime

Turns out moths and elephants secrete the same pheromone to search for mates, even though they're separated by 550 million years.

Why? I have thoughts...

#evolution #exobiology #biochemistry #elephants #weirdscience

New article: Why whales scream into the dark at deaf squid who stare back.

"The loudest creature on Earth screams into the abyss to find a squid that can’t hear it—while that same squid avoids the whale because it has the largest eyes in the history of the world."

#Evolution #deepsea #weirdbiology

For every frame of reality I see, a dragonfly gets five. Those extra frames aren’t decorative — they give the fly more chances to calculate where things were versus where they are, and fire off a motor command with the confidence of a creature with five moments to spare.

#matrix #kungfu #cognition

What do Millennial Women and Giant Ground Sloths Have in Common?

Avocados. The answer is avocados. It's a story of avocados, evolution, alimentation, and overhunting.

#evolution #avocados #weirdscience

New Field Note: Why 3I/ATLAS Needs to Be a Spaceship

"The more we learn about how big and empty it all is, the more alone we feel. When something comes hurtling into our little ecosystem from the great beyond, of course we hope it’s something more than a pebble."

#NASA #3IATLAS #astronomy #Space

Field Note: Mandrills shouldn't be blue, but they are...

"And just like that—through a little physics, a lot of social competition, and millions of years of female preference—you get blue skin."

#evolution #weirdscience #biophysics #skin #biology

What kind of planet could evolve a slug crime lord? My first Speculative Field Note dives into the impossible biology — and perfect psychology — of Jabba the Hutt.

This is part of a larger series on exobiology, astronomy, and the strangeness of being alive. #evolution #exobiology #starwars #science