An article published in the journal “Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences” describes the discovery of 19 new pieces of DNA found in the human genome that originated from viruses. One of those pieces even contains all the DNA generated by a retrovirus. This research also confirms the presence of 17 pieces of DNA of viral origin discovered in recent years by other scientists.
In the course of March, a fundraising campaign on the Indiegogo website started to complete the post-production of an episode, produce three more episodes and cover other costs of the production of “Star Trek Continues”, the web series that continues the adventures of “Star Trek” original series. After the great success of the 2015 fundraiser, another called “To Boldly Indiegogo” started. This one is of the flexible type, which means that the production will be funded regardless of how much money will be pledged. The goal is to raise $350,000, really a lot for this kind of production.
The novel “The Last Dodo” by Jacqueline Rayner was published for the first time in 2007.
After a discussion about zoos, the Tenth Doctor and Martha Jones take inspiration from an electronic guide to the creatures of the Earth and decide to go in search of a living dodo. The Doctor programs the Tardis to find a dodo but the two travelers end up in a sort of museum of the last specimens of all the extinct species.
Their arrival isn’t exactly well received because they get mistaken for specimen thieves. For some time, someone has been stealing many of them and no one can figure out how. Despite being in a gray area from the ethical point of view, the Doctor and Martha decide to help the museum to solve the mystery.
An article published in the journal “Scientific Reports” describes the discovery of two species of algae dated over 555 million years ago, during the period known as the Ediacaran. These are some of the oldest multicellular life forms ever found and their fossils are very rare because those soft bodies are difficult to preserve. For this reason each new discovery provides new information on the development of multicellular organisms.
An article published in the journal “Science” describes the creation of a bacterium with a minimal DNA, meaning that it’s made up of only 473 genes needed for its survival. A team of scientists led by the pioneer of genetic engineering Craig Venter eliminated the other genes obtaining an organism called JCVI-syn3.0 or simply Syn3.0.
