cells – Quanta Magazine https://www.quantamagazine.org Illuminating science Mon, 16 Sep 2024 14:10:47 -0400 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.2 Cells Across the Tree of Life Exchange ‘Text Messages’ Using RNA https://www.quantamagazine.org/cells-across-the-tree-of-life-exchange-text-messages-using-rna-20240916/ https://www.quantamagazine.org/cells-across-the-tree-of-life-exchange-text-messages-using-rna-20240916/#respond Mon, 16 Sep 2024 14:10:47 +0000 https://www.quantamagazine.org/?p=140852 The post Cells Across the Tree of Life Exchange ‘Text Messages’ Using RNA first appeared on Quanta Magazine

]]> For a molecule of RNA, the world is a dangerous place. Unlike DNA, which can persist for millions of years in its remarkably stable, double-stranded form, RNA isn’t built to last — not even within the cell that made it. Unless it’s protectively tethered to a larger molecule, RNA can degrade in minutes or less. And outside a cell? Forget about it. Voracious, RNA-destroying enzymes are everywhere...

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]]> https://www.quantamagazine.org/cells-across-the-tree-of-life-exchange-text-messages-using-rna-20240916/feed/ 0 The Cellular Secret to Resisting the Pressure of the Deep Sea https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-cellular-secret-to-resisting-the-pressure-of-the-deep-sea-20240909/ https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-cellular-secret-to-resisting-the-pressure-of-the-deep-sea-20240909/#respond Mon, 09 Sep 2024 14:18:08 +0000 https://www.quantamagazine.org/?p=140436 The post The Cellular Secret to Resisting the Pressure of the Deep Sea first appeared on Quanta Magazine

]]> The bottom of the ocean is cold, dark and under extreme pressure. It is not a place suited to the physiology of us surface dwellers: At the deepest point, the pressure of 36,200 feet of seawater is greater than the weight of an elephant on every square inch of your body. Yet Earth’s deepest places are home to life uniquely suited to these challenging conditions. Scientists have studied how the...

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]]> https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-cellular-secret-to-resisting-the-pressure-of-the-deep-sea-20240909/feed/ 0 The Physics of Cold Water May Have Jump-Started Complex Life https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-physics-of-cold-water-may-have-jump-started-complex-life-20240724/ https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-physics-of-cold-water-may-have-jump-started-complex-life-20240724/#respond Wed, 24 Jul 2024 14:10:10 +0000 https://www.quantamagazine.org/?p=139280 The post The Physics of Cold Water May Have Jump-Started Complex Life first appeared on Quanta Magazine

]]> Once upon a time, long ago, the world was encased in ice. That’s the tale told by sedimentary rock in the tropics, many geologists believe. Hundreds of millions of years ago, glaciers and sea ice covered the globe. The most extreme scenarios suggest a layer of ice several meters thick even at the equator. This event has been called “Snowball Earth,” and you’d think it would be a terrible time to...

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]]> https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-physics-of-cold-water-may-have-jump-started-complex-life-20240724/feed/ 0 Most Life on Earth Is Dormant, After Pulling an ‘Emergency Brake’ https://www.quantamagazine.org/most-life-on-earth-is-dormant-after-pulling-an-emergency-brake-20240605/ https://www.quantamagazine.org/most-life-on-earth-is-dormant-after-pulling-an-emergency-brake-20240605/#respond Wed, 05 Jun 2024 14:07:15 +0000 https://www.quantamagazine.org/?p=138328 The post Most Life on Earth Is Dormant, After Pulling an ‘Emergency Brake’ first appeared on Quanta Magazine

]]> Researchers recently reported the discovery of a natural protein, named Balon, that can bring a cell’s production of new proteins to a screeching halt. Balon was found in bacteria that hibernate in Arctic permafrost, but it also seems to be made by many other organisms and may be an overlooked mechanism for dormancy throughout the tree of life. For most life forms, the ability to shut oneself off...

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]]> https://www.quantamagazine.org/most-life-on-earth-is-dormant-after-pulling-an-emergency-brake-20240605/feed/ 0 How ‘Idle’ Egg Cells Defend Their DNA From Damage https://www.quantamagazine.org/how-idle-egg-cells-defend-their-dna-from-damage-20240513/ https://www.quantamagazine.org/how-idle-egg-cells-defend-their-dna-from-damage-20240513/#respond Mon, 13 May 2024 14:35:50 +0000 https://www.quantamagazine.org/?p=137886 The post How ‘Idle’ Egg Cells Defend Their DNA From Damage first appeared on Quanta Magazine

]]> Out of all the cells in the body, oocytes are the most patient. The immature egg cells form inside a female’s body when she’s still a fetus in her mother’s womb, and then they wait in a quiescent state for years, if not decades. Cocooned inside ovaries, they pause, neither dividing nor replicating their DNA, so that one day they may pass along pristinely preserved genetic information to the next...

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