Related papers: The C-value enigma and timing of the Cambrian expl…
This paper revisits the conundrum faced when one attempts to understand the dynamics of black hole formation and evaporation without abandoning unitary evolution. Previous efforts to resolve this puzzle assume that information escapes in…
The evolution of structure in biology is driven by accretion and change. Accretion brings together disparate parts to form bigger wholes. Change provides opportunities for growth and innovation. Here we review patterns and processes that…
The evolution of the Universe is the ultimate laboratory to study fundamental physics across energy scales that span about 25 orders of magnitude: from the grand unification scale through particle and nuclear physics scales down to the…
The Great Filter hypothesis proposes that the emergence of technological societies capable of interstellar travel depends on a small number of exceptionally hard and highly improbable steps. Traditional versions of this hypothesis enumerate…
Apparent period variations detected in several eclipsing, close-compact binaries are frequently interpreted as being caused by circumbinary giant planets. This interpretation raises the question of the origin of the potential planets that…
Cytasters have been underestimated in terms of their potential relevance to embryonic development and evolution. From the perspective discussed herein, structures such as the multiciliated cells of comb rows and balancers supporting…
An early burst of speciation followed by a subsequent slowdown in the rate of diversification is commonly inferred from molecular phylogenies. This pattern is consistent with some verbal theory of ecological opportunity and adaptive…
We have investigated the implications of Quantum Mechanics to macroscopic scale. Evaporation of Black Holes and evolution of pulsars may be one of the consequences of this conjecture. The two equations GM=Rc^2 and GM^2=hc where R and M are…
The continuous cooling of a white dwarf is punctuated by events that affect its cooling rate. Probably the most significant of those is the crystallization of its core, a phase transition that occurs once the C/O interior has cooled down…
We study the probabilities of evolution based on random mutations and natural selection. We conclude that evolution to multicellular eukaryots, or even prokaryots, is unlikely to be the result of only random mutations. Complex organisms…
While modern physics and biology satisfactorily explain the passage from the Big Bang to the formation of Earth and the first cells to present-day life, respectively, the origins of biochemical life still remain an open question. Since…
Recent astronomical discoveries of supermassive black holes (quasars), gamma-bursters, supernovae, and dust at high redshifts, z = (5 --10), are reviewed. Such a dense population of the early universe is at odds with the conventional…
The conceptual divide between classical physics and quantum mechanics has not been satisfactorily bridged as yet. The purpose of this paper is to show that such a bridge exists naturally in the Green-Wolf complex scalar representation of…
We analyze models of genome evolution based on both restricted and unrestricted double-cut-and-join (DCJ) operations. We compare the number of operations along the evolutionary trajectory to the DCJ distance of the genome from its ancestor…
Massive stars end their short lives in spectacular explosions, supernovae, that synthesize new elements and drive galaxy evolution. Throughout history supernovae were discovered chiefly through their delayed optical light, preventing…
Cosmic acceleration may be the result of unknown physical processes involving either new fields in high energy physics or modifications of gravitation theory. In the latter case, such modifications are usually related to the existence of…
We present the results of two-dimensional calculations of turbulent nuclear burning of hydrogen-rich material accreted onto a white dwarf of 1 solar mass. The main aim of the present paper is to investigate the question as to whether and…
Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs) are notorious for their diversity. Yet, they have a series of common features. The typical energy of their $\gamma$ rays is a fraction of an MeV. The energy distributions are well described by a ``Band spectrum'',…
Aging is thought to be a consequence of intrinsic breakdowns in how genetic information is processed. But mounting experimental evidence suggests that aging can be slowed. To help resolve this mystery, I derive a mortality equation which…
The discovery ten years ago that the expansion of the Universe is accelerating put in place the last major building block of the present cosmological model, in which the Universe is composed of 4% baryons, 20% dark matter, and 76% dark…