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YEAST LAB EVOLUTION. "These results show that key aspects of multicellular complexity, a subject of central importance to biology, can readily evolve from unicellular eukaryotes." http://www.pnas.org/content/109/5/1595.full View in LinkedIn

MANTRA OF FIXED ANGLES. "Why do freezing water molecules arrange themselves so easily and consistently at the 120 degree angle that forms this hexagonal structure? Our science does not yet provide a good explanation for that. Ice forms in lots of other configurations too. And the angles involved in those await explanation as well." https://lnkd.in/dmgcCBk View in LinkedIn

PUNCTUATED STASIS. "The fossil record shows that long periods of stasis are often punctuated by bursts of rapid evolution, presumably due to shifts in selective conditions and dramatic evolutionary responses. Over the history of life, multicellularity has evolved repeatedly in unrelated phylogenetic groups. The potential for the evolution of multicellularity may be less constrained than is frequently postulated." http://www.pnas.org/content/109/5/1595.full View in LinkedIn

KEPLER, father of modern astronomy was born 1752, December 27th. "A key figure in the 17th century scientific revolution, he is best known for his laws of planetary motion, based on his works Astronomia nova, Harmonices Mundi, and Epitome of Copernican Astronomy." https://lnkd.in/dvhwdZY View in LinkedIn

YEAST CO-OPTED FUNCTION. "Apoptosis rapidly evolved a new, co-opted function in our multicellular yeast with no obvious parallel in the unicellular ancestor. Similarly, the existence of apoptosis-like cellular suicide in the unicellular ancestors of metazoans may be an important preadaptation, facilitating the evolution of complex multicellularity." http://www.pnas.org/content/109/5/1595.full View in LinkedIn

FRAGMENT FROM NATURE continues from last weekend on the snowflake. It is emblematic of the truth that nothing in nature is too small to be deeply fascinating. I post this after visiting the beautiful city of Prague for Christmas week, historical home to mathematics, astronomy and music. In the nearby ancient town of Cesky Krumlov, a snowflake landed in my black coat, after viewing Miroslav Páral's extraordinary statue, The Guardian of Intestines, in the city beneath the city. Eclectic mixture. View in LinkedIn

China says it will phase out ivory trade in 2017 View in LinkedIn

TILING SHAPES. "Fibonacci snowflakes are somehow related to the Fibonacci fractals. They also form a subclass of tiles used for tiling the plane." https://lnkd.in/desvnVq View in LinkedIn

COMPLEMENTARY SHAPES. "Very cold? We get columns. Cold and high humidity? Dendrites. Cold and medium humidity? Sectored plates. Still, none of this explains how two separate arms can form complementary patterns." Nice graph of temperature vs form. http://www.itsokaytobesmart.com/post/72704847892/youve-watched-this-weeks-video-on-the-science View in LinkedIn

HALF TRUTH. "Snow crystals usually aren’t completely symmetrical. Instead, they are quite irregular and lumpy, full of conglomerations and corrections. The hexagonal crystal structure holds up in all cases, but the sort of perfect fractal sculpture you’ve been led to believe defines a snowflake? It’s a half-truth, at best." https://lnkd.in/dTbpCSB View in LinkedIn