BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 31, 2023--

Scientists have made an astonishing discovery that suggests bacteria contain memories to be passed on to future generations. Researchers at the University of Texas and the University of Delaware found that despite having no brain or nervous system, certain bacteria may be able to form memories and remember certain behaviours depending on the available cellular iron. When iron levels are low, bacteria can hunt for local iron in their environment, prompting scientists to believe its memory has evolved, according to Science Alert. "Bacteria don’t have brains, but they can gather information from their environment, and if they have encountered that environment frequently, they can store that information and quickly access it later for their benefit," Souvik Bhattacharyya, the lead author of the recent study said. "We show [...] that a prior experience of swarming is remembered when Escherichia coli encounters a new surface, improving its future swarming efficiency," Souvik explained. "An iron-based memory might offer the advantage of providing a hub connecting various stress responses such as antibiotic survival and biofilms." The 'memories' lasted for around four generations, before generally coming to an end by the seventh. "Before there was oxygen in the Earth’s atmosphere, early cellular life was utilizing iron for a lot of cellular processes. Iron is not only critical in the origin of life on Earth, but also in the evolution of life,” the study author went on to explain. "It makes sense that cells would utilize it in this way." How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Learning how to pronounce ‘biopic’ is one thing. Understanding why it’s such a commonly mispronounced word is another.

A study of 150 stones dating back 1.4m years shows early humans were deliberately crafting spherical shapes – but nobody knows why. The Hebrew University of Jerusalem made findings after analysing the limestone balls which were unearthed in Ubeidiya, a dig site in Israel’s Jordan Rift Valley. Scientists have previously speculated that the stones, which were discovered in the 1960s and serve no discernable purpose, became round after being used as hammers. But the university’s team reconstructed the steps required to create the so-called spheroids and found they were part of a “preconceived goal to make a sphere”. The researchers used 3D analysis to retrace how they were made based on the markings and geometry of the spheroids. They concluded that the objects were intentionally “knapped”, the technique used to shape stone by hitting it with other objects. Antoine Muller, a researcher at the university’s Institute of Archaeology, said: “The main significance of the findings is that these spheroids from ‘Ubeidiya appear to be intentionally made, with the goal of achieving a sphere. “This suggests an appreciation of geometry and symmetry by hominins 1.4 million years ago.” Early humans clearly had some reason for making the balls, but what exactly that is remains a mystery. He said: “We still can’t be confident about what they were used for. A lot of work needs to be done to narrow down their functionality.” Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

PARAMUS, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul 19, 2023--

Listen to The Big Take podcast on iHeart, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Terminal. When Tesla built the Model 3

Annabelle Ham had more than 73,000 followers on Instagram and an additional 77,000 subscribers on YouTube

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Elon Musk has unveiled a new black and white “X” logo to replace Twitter’s famous blue bird as he follows through with a major rebranding of the the social media platform he bought for $44 billion last year

TOTW 4 predictions for FC 24 include Gabriel Martinelli, Federico Valverde, Scott McTominay, Achraf Hakimi and more.

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 7, 2023--

The U.S. Justice Department is pressing ahead with its antitrust case against Google