“[T]he pfhrp2 deletions had arisen recently and hadn’t had time for mutation and recombination to scramble the DNA sequences nearby. So, all the [malaria] parasites that carry the pfhrp2 deletion seemed to have inherited it from the same ancestor, that ancestor was very recent, and there was a selective pressure that was driving the expansion of parasites that inherited the deletion.”
“Settlements typically include a small group — usually a few dozen people — branching off from a larger population on the island of origin. By chance, a few of the genetic variants that are rare in the large population would be common in the settlers.”
“A major reason that these odd-sided cells were necessary is that the bees will start building at different sites by making honeycombs with different orientations. Thus, as these different segments grow to meet each other, their hexagonal arrays will be oriented with incompatible angles.”
“The researchers conclude the South American DNA was introduced in the Marquesas, a group of islands northeast of Tahiti, shortly after 1100 CE. Over the next hundred years, it spread south from there and eventually on to Rapa Nui.”
“These cancer-killing immune cells were also obtained from at least two individuals, suggesting that they may be present in all humans. Yet humans regularly suffer from cancer, so there’s clearly something that keeps them from doing their job.”
“[T]here was sulfur on the surface of the white dwarf as well. Sulfur is generally a very rare element on stars, which suggested that the material did not have a stellar origin.”
“[The flood] had to happen quickly enough that the iridium layer hadn’t been laid down yet. It also had to take place before the heavier material—the shocked minerals and glasses—had fallen out of the sky. This creates a likely window of between 15 minutes and two hours after the [Chicxulub] impact.”
“The researchers also looked specifically at the 2008 economic collapse and estimate that a $1 minimum wage increase could have prevented over 13,000 suicides if previous trends held for this period.”