Boost for alien hunters? Earth life may not be so improbable, study suggests
The idea that life on Earth arose through a series of improbable "hard" evolutionary steps may be misjudged, according to a ...
Discovery of high-spin manganese centers sheds light on photosynthesis
In a small manganese oxide cluster, teams from HZB and HU Berlin have discovered a particularly exciting compound: two high-spin manganese centers in two very different oxidation states. This complex ...
Smithsonian Magazine2d
Intelligent Life May Be More Likely to Exist on Other Planets Than Previously Thought, Scientists Say
Researchers present an alternative to the long-held “hard steps” theory to explain the evolution of complex life, suggesting ...
EurekAlert!2d
BESSY II: Building block of the catalyst for oxygen formation in photosynthesis reproduced
In a small manganese oxide cluster, teams from HZB and HU Berlin have discovered a particularly exciting compound: two high ...
How Quantum Mechanics Powers the Near-Perfect Efficiency of Photosynthesis
Plants harness quantum physics to capture solar energy with near-perfect efficiency. Scientists are now exploring how to ...
A century of extra carbon dioxide boosts photosynthesis in tropical trees
The concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere is rising rapidly, with numerous negative consequences for the climate. However, ...
Evolving intelligent life took billions of years − but it may not have been as unlikely as many scientists predicted
Humans evolved late in Earth history. While this timing inspired the conclusion that humanlike life is a cosmic improbability ...
New theory ups the odds that intelligent aliens exist
“Our existence is probably not an evolutionary fluke,” says Jennifer Macalady, a study co-author and microbiology professor ...
Was the emergence of intelligent life on Earth just a fluke? Some scientists think not
Roughly 300,000 years ago, our species first appeared on the African landscape before spreading globally and coming to ...
ag.purdue12d
Purdue biochemists discover self-repair function in key photosynthetic protein complex
Cyanobacteria began contributing oxygen to Earth’s mostly noxious atmosphere more than 2 billion years ago. The photosystem ...
The Quantum Blueprint: How Photosynthesis Defies Classical Physics
Quantum mechanics plays a role in the process of photosynthesis. Engineers have long sought efficient ways to convert solar energy into storable chemical energy. Nature perfected this process billions ...
C&EN15d
Investigation of Lithium Polysulfide Reduction Associated with the Potential-Limiting Step in Lithium–Sulfur Batteries
Department of Chemistry and Energy Sciences Institute, Yale University, 810 West Campus Drive, West Haven, Connecticut 06516, United States ...