school energy&environment
Beginning of life
Between 3700 and 2500 million years ago, nothing was as it is today, neither the continents, nor the oceans, nor the atmosphere. In those times, the atmosphere was crossed by electric storms, and ultraviolet rays of the Sun. These phenomena transformed the substances that were present, by means of chemical reactions, into macromolecules that were able to reproduce and feed themselves. Life was born! Between 3200 and 2900 million years ago, thanks to the appearance of blue algae that could carry out chlorophyll photosynthesis, oxygen spread into the atmosphere. Thanks to the oxygen in the air and the nitrogen, life could also be transferred to the surfaces above the water. According to some scientists, life originated in puddles of water on the surface, others instead believe it originated in the ocean abysses, where there are sources of very hot water rich in minerals. To date, in these inhospitable environments we find bacteria that are able to live without light and receive energy from chemical oxidation of the sulphur compounds.
subjects dealt with in Beginning of life
The Beginning of life
Philosophers from ancient Greece believed that life was contained in matter itself and when conditions were favourable it would appear…
The evolution of life
The first living organisms we have proof of thanks to fossils, are three and a half billion years old. They…
The discovery of DNA
More than half a century ago, on 25 April 1953, a short article just 900 words long, appeared on the…
Fossils
We may say that every day, palaeontology researches, active worldwide, present some new discovery : it may be a new…
special reports
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8 March 2022 / Life
8 March. We remember Rosalind Franklin, the great female DNA scientist.
DNA was first isolated by Friedrich Miescher, a Swiss biochemist in 1869. It was a brilliant, but not complicated operation:…
27 February 2022 / Life
In search of the riders of icebergs
International Polar Bear Day, set up by Polar Bears International, a non-profit organisation, was held on 27 February. The aim…
12 February 2022 / Life
A naturalist's voyage around the world
12 February is Darwin Day, the annual event that falls on the birthday of Charles Darwin (born 12 February 1809),…
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18 December 2021 / Life
The Christmas Star Tradition
A plant that symbolises the Christmas season, decorating homes and shops and featured prominently by the florists and garden centres…
15 September 2021 / Life
Can you be intelligent without a brain?
Can you be intelligent without a brain? The answer is "in a certain sense, yes" and this is demonstrated by…
26 July 2021 / Life
Japanese beetles and other alien species
There is a beetle that has been invading the Italian countryside and cities for some time now, a small insect…
-
16 June 2021 / Life
A turtle's life
World Sea Turtle Day is held on 16 June. First established in 2008, the day is now supported by Sea…
10 June 2021 / Life
The world below
Journey to the Centre of the Earth is a famous science fiction novel written by the great Jules Verne in…
29 April 2021 / Life
Etruscan shrews, ferocity in miniature
Which is the tiniest micromammal, i.e. the smallest mammal on the planet? Up until almost half a century ago, it…
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8 March 2022 / Life
8 March. We remember Rosalind Franklin, the great female DNA scientist.
DNA was first isolated by Friedrich Miescher, a Swiss biochemist in 1869. It was a brilliant, but not complicated operation:…
27 February 2022 / Life
In search of the riders of icebergs
International Polar Bear Day, set up by Polar Bears International, a non-profit organisation, was held on 27 February. The aim…
-
12 February 2022 / Life
A naturalist's voyage around the world
12 February is Darwin Day, the annual event that falls on the birthday of Charles Darwin (born 12 February 1809),…
18 December 2021 / Life
The Christmas Star Tradition
A plant that symbolises the Christmas season, decorating homes and shops and featured prominently by the florists and garden centres…
-
15 September 2021 / Life
Can you be intelligent without a brain?
Can you be intelligent without a brain? The answer is "in a certain sense, yes" and this is demonstrated by…
26 July 2021 / Life
Japanese beetles and other alien species
There is a beetle that has been invading the Italian countryside and cities for some time now, a small insect…
-
16 June 2021 / Life
A turtle's life
World Sea Turtle Day is held on 16 June. First established in 2008, the day is now supported by Sea…
10 June 2021 / Life
The world below
Journey to the Centre of the Earth is a famous science fiction novel written by the great Jules Verne in…
-
29 April 2021 / Life
Etruscan shrews, ferocity in miniature
Which is the tiniest micromammal, i.e. the smallest mammal on the planet? Up until almost half a century ago, it…
-
8 March 2022 / Life
8 March. We remember Rosalind Franklin, the great female DNA scientist.
DNA was first isolated by Friedrich Miescher, a Swiss biochemist in 1869. It was a brilliant, but not complicated operation:…
-
27 February 2022 / Life
In search of the riders of icebergs
International Polar Bear Day, set up by Polar Bears International, a non-profit organisation, was held on 27 February. The aim…
-
12 February 2022 / Life
A naturalist's voyage around the world
12 February is Darwin Day, the annual event that falls on the birthday of Charles Darwin (born 12 February 1809),…
-
18 December 2021 / Life
The Christmas Star Tradition
A plant that symbolises the Christmas season, decorating homes and shops and featured prominently by the florists and garden centres…
-
15 September 2021 / Life
Can you be intelligent without a brain?
Can you be intelligent without a brain? The answer is "in a certain sense, yes" and this is demonstrated by…
-
26 July 2021 / Life
Japanese beetles and other alien species
There is a beetle that has been invading the Italian countryside and cities for some time now, a small insect…
-
16 June 2021 / Life
A turtle's life
World Sea Turtle Day is held on 16 June. First established in 2008, the day is now supported by Sea…
-
10 June 2021 / Life
The world below
Journey to the Centre of the Earth is a famous science fiction novel written by the great Jules Verne in…
-
29 April 2021 / Life
Etruscan shrews, ferocity in miniature
Which is the tiniest micromammal, i.e. the smallest mammal on the planet? Up until almost half a century ago, it…
from the Multimedia section
curiosities
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Life from space
According to some scientists life has always existed in the Universe just like the Universe...
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Bio-luminescence
Many sea animals, including a lot of fish and molluscs that live in the dark in the ocean depths...
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Bacteria as Sherlock Holmes
A drop of blood, a fragment of skin or a hair found on the scene of a crime can supply…
Down-pouring bacteria
It sounds incredible, but recent researches have found that bacteria can cause some atmospheric phenomena...
-
Life from space
According to some scientists life has always existed in the Universe just like the Universe...
-
Bio-luminescence
Many sea animals, including a lot of fish and molluscs that live in the dark in the ocean depths...
-
Bacteria as Sherlock Holmes
A drop of blood, a fragment of skin or a hair found on the scene of a crime can supply…
Down-pouring bacteria
It sounds incredible, but recent researches have found that bacteria can cause some atmospheric phenomena...
-
Life from space
According to some scientists life has always existed in the Universe just like the Universe...
-
Bio-luminescence
Many sea animals, including a lot of fish and molluscs that live in the dark in the ocean depths...
-
Bacteria as Sherlock Holmes
A drop of blood, a fragment of skin or a hair found on the scene of a crime can supply…
-
Down-pouring bacteria
It sounds incredible, but recent researches have found that bacteria can cause some atmospheric phenomena...