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life: Quick Facts

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Photos and Videos

A herd of African elephants stands at the edge of the Chobe River in Botswana, drinking water with a backdrop of dry hills and scattered green trees.
Streptococcus pyogenes
Mangrove roots, Thailand
Bald eagle with wings partly spread perches on a bare tree branch near Kenai, Alaska, against a blurred green background.
A small speckled reed frog (Hyperolius species) sits inside the center of a pink and yellow lily flower.
Venus flytrap
The initial proposal of DNA structure
Illustrated diagram of the carbon cycle showing how carbon moves as carbon dioxide through the atmosphere, water, living organisms, rocks, and soil. It depicts processes like photosynthesis, respiration, sedimentation, volcanic activity, fossil fuel use, and carbon sequestration, with arrows indicating the flow between air, water, plants, animals, rocks, and industrial sources.
Detailed diagram of a plasma membrane's lipid bilayer showing two layers of phospholipid molecules with hydrophilic heads facing outward and hydrophobic tails inward, embedded cholesterol, integral (intrinsic) proteins spanning the membrane, peripheral (extrinsic) proteins attached to the surface, and sugar side chains extending from the outer face.
A colorful diagram of the geologic time scale shows major eons, eras, and periods, with illustrations of key prehistoric life forms such as bacteria, jellyfish, trilobites, fishes, dinosaurs, mammals, and humans, spanning from 4,000 million years ago to the present. Measurement bars at the top and bottom indicate the passage of time in millions of years, and each section is color-coded to highlight evolutionary milestones.
What is the world's smallest organism?
See a survey comparing the largest known single living organisms on Earth: from the animal, plant, and fungal kingdoms
Why is carbon called the element of life?
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