electric fish stacked cells electric organ electrolocation

Electric fish stack thousands of cells into living batteries

Some electric fish arrange thousands of modified muscle or nerve cells into electric organs. The cells work together like a stack of tiny batteries. The fish can use the resulting electricity to stun prey or sense nearby objects.

Colonial Americans saw liberty in Magna Carta

The 1215 agreement between England’s King John and rebel barons was not written as a charter of universal rights for ordinary people. Centuries later, people interpreted it that way, and that view helped shape colonial Americans’ ideas about liberty and the U.S. Constitution.

Plant cells may photosynthesize because their ancestors swallowed bacteria

Chloroplasts, the parts of plant cells that perform photosynthesis, appear to be descendants of bacteria swallowed by ancient cells. Chloroplasts still keep signs of this origin, including their own circular DNA and bacteria-like machinery for making proteins.

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electric fish stacked cells electric organ electrolocation

Electric fish stack thousands of cells into living batteries

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