We all know that birds are avian dinosaurs descended from the theropod group, and it is often said that the chicken descended from the T-Rex. I wanted to know if this was true, and if not, is there a bird whose ancestor is known?

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What makes immunology such a difficult topic? And for those who are in the field, what would you recommend to those who plan to pursue immunology or are in medical school?

I'm frequently annoyed I don't have a proper microscope at home to look at things up close. Does anyone have any suggestions on what to buy? I'd like one that can easily take pictures that I can send over my phone or the internet.

I didn't go to a great school but more importantly I was a bit of a wild child. I was curious about science and biology but not persistent enough. Anyways, my kid is super into biology and I want to learn biology from the ground up to be able to help and keep them interested (practical knowledge and theoretical too). Is there a curriculum/study programme that could take me from scratch up to A-levels (UK) or 12th grade (senior year) high school (USA). Any books, websites, YouTube channel recommendations are more than welcome. Also any good microscope recommendations would be great. Thanks in advance everyone!

So many at night and I don’t see them otherwise. I guess it’s bc country side kinda

(Please don't send this to speculative evolution, I'm asking a defined question and seeking actual informed answers).

If we ignore the presence of humans, has nature reached a point where it isn't really going to change much anymore?

Animal life appeared about 500 million years ago and since then it seems like vertebrates took all the large niches and invertebrates got stuck in the small size niches.

Interesting innovations have happened - aminotic egg, flight, eusociality, grass colonised land, humans appeared, but the largest animals are still some variant on the same body plan; four limbs with fingers (even if they get turned into wings or fins) and the same organs from millions of years ago.

Can this ever change? Does Earth life have the capacity to create new unique animals with different body parts or would it have appeared after 500 million years of animals?

What about life in general? Could another event similar to the two different endosymbiotic events happen and create a new form of life?

What do you do for work? How much do you make? Do you regret your degree?

I understand that the current biomass of earth is estimated at 550 gigatons of carbon. Obviously it was zero at one point. Is it still increasing, no matter how slowly? The number of humans continues to rise, but in doing so, are we causing a net loss of other biomass? We're overfishing, but breed animals for food far beyond what there would be in nature.

I've always wondered if these humans, who are humans like us, could form their own species in the future by speciation, like mosquitoes for example.

Highlights

Horizontal mitochondrial transfer has been identified in multiple biological contexts, including normal tissue development, physiological homeostasis, tissue repair and regeneration, and a wide range of pathologies.

The origins of horizontal mitochondrial transfer are evident in cell–cell communication systems present in ancestral bacterial and archeal cells that gave rise to complex life.

Horizontal mitochondrial transfer can restore impaired cellular metabolism by supplying functional mitochondria to damaged cells, highlighting its potential as a novel therapeutic strategy for a variety of pathological conditions.

Horizontal mitochondrial transfer in cancer may contribute to metabolic remodeling, tumor progression, immune suppression, therapeutic resistance, and metastasis, indicating that mitochondrial transfer presents a potential target for anticancer therapies.

Horizontal mitochondrial transfer is an emerging field in cell biology with important roles in development, tissue physiology, and disease.

Abstract

The field of horizontal mitochondrial transfer (HMT), also referred to as intercellular mitochondrial transfer, has recently gained momentum due to an increasing number of publications that go well beyond diseases such as cancer. From co-culture experiments to in vivo evidence in mouse cancer models, noncancerous diseases, and normal tissue and organ homeostasis and development, it is becoming increasingly clear that HMT is a fundamental physiological phenomenon broadly relevant to complex organisms. Recent methodological advances, epitomized by ultra-high-resolution microscopy and spatial and single-cell multiomics technologies, allow for research that strongly supports HMT as an emerging area of cell biology.

Hypothetically if you had celiac disease (autoimmune disease affected by gluten & wheat) would you be able to eat regular people with no issues or would you have to pick out exclusively gluten free people? Just a random thought

Did you know over 80 species of wild primates have been observed "keeping pets"? 🐒

A new study found that primates aren't just interacting with other animals in the wild. They're actually petting, playing with, and grooming them, and the primates usually initiate. While most of these encounters were short-term, researchers also documented a few long-term friendships and even "adoptions." Since this wasn't a formal experiment, these observations in our closest evolutionary cousins offer a rare clue to the mystery of why humans started keeping pets in the first place.

For those of you who got your masters in biology, how did you choose your program and how do you like it? Also what career are you in now if you’re comfortable sharing.

I am a current senior biology major with a minor in chemistry and am not pre-anything. I have experience in soil science through lab work but I’m not sure where to go from here for my masters! I have LOVED being a general biology major but now the career and grad school scaries are hitting me really hard and I’m a little scared.

Any advice is welcomed and greatly appreciated :)

https://youtube.com/shorts/0stCBCWZ_Cg?feature=share

While we know quite a lot about what our ancestors looked like and what they ate, so far we didn’t know anything about their social behaviour. Because behaviours don’t fossilise.

Scientists used to think that the first placentals behaved like shrews because they looked like shrews. And as the common belief was that all shrews are solitary, scientists thought the first placental ancestors were too.

Now we know that both assumptions were wrong.

Peer-reviewed paper in PNAS:

S.F. Walmsley, C. Olivier, A.V. Jaeggi, L. Makuya, J.S. Martin, L.D. Hayes, & C. Schradin, Pair living emerged early in placental mammals, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 123 (31) e2528458123, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2528458123 (2026).

Our newly published review explores an emerging idea: tumor-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) contribute to premetastatic niche formation and can show preferential accumulation in future metastatic organs. Could these biological properties be harnessed for imaging?

We examine how EVs can be engineered as nanocarriers for optical, PET/SPECT, MRI, and CT imaging, bringing together the biological rationale, current preclinical evidence, engineering strategies, and major barriers to clinical translation.

Rather than simply tracking EVs, the broader goal is to understand whether EV-based imaging could eventually help visualize the biological changes that precede detectable metastasis.

I’m interested in hearing others’ perspectives on where this field is heading.

I'm not a biologist, I have zero background in biology, physics, chemistry. I do have some background in geology, but past a freshman university course, that's about it. I'm just an interested layman.

I've been armchair reading in to abiogenesis theory of the origins of life. In particular, the thermal vent theory of the origins of life. Without having a background in this field, I find that theory a little compelling, but mostly just really interesting.

What I can't wrap my head around is how genetic diversity could have evolved? It seems to me that the gist of abiogenesis is that a set of chemical reactions yielded a self contained proto-cell with RNA that is self replicating. How did that self replicating proto cell, or cells, eventually evolve? What are the prevailing theories as to how genetic diversity came about from abiogenesis?

Iconella tenera sp.

What can be said of how Keratin would interact with Conchoilin? Would it create sturdy quills like porcupine quills?

Hey guys so someone enrolled in the organismal biology program because I think is the one that can potentially give me more flexibility I could either go to lab or go to conservation. I just started taking the classes after transferring from CC and I feel they’re too dull idk I comapare it with my microbiology class (which I loved) and my bio 182 and idk why tf I’m getting in debt for this. I’m taking an insect biology class (nothing against insects) but is sooooo dull idk what I was expecting. My ecology 302 is good I guess but I feel that the things why are studying are so obvious yk? I thought biology would make me study more of what we are made up and how it works but idk. Still on time to drop those classes but idk if switching to molecular biology would be better cause I will most likely end up in pharma which I don’t complain but I would like to have the best of both worlds in which I can either pick conservation or pharma just cause I can.