The long-standing rules for assigning scientific names to bacteria and archaea are overdue for an update, according to a new consensus statement backed by 119 microbiologists from around the globe.
Plants & Animals
Jun 8, 2020
1
183
In satellite photos of the Earth, clouds of bright green bloom across the surface of lakes and oceans as algae populations explode in nutrient-rich water. From the air, the algae appear to be the primary players in the ecological ...
Cell & Microbiology
Apr 6, 2020
3
1003
Introverts take heart: When cells, like some people, get too squished, they can go into defense mode, even shutting down photosynthesis.
Cell & Microbiology
Mar 23, 2020
0
261
Once, single-cell life claimed sole dominion over the earth. For some three billion years, unfathomable generations of unicellular organisms ate, grew and reproduced among only each other. They evolved into predators and ...
Cell & Microbiology
Dec 5, 2019
5
3283
It isn't easy being green. It takes thousands of genes to build the photosynthetic machinery that plants need to harness sunlight for growth. And yet, researchers don't know exactly how these genes work.
Biotechnology
Mar 18, 2019
3
154
Freeing thousands of microorganisms to swim in random directions in an infinite pool of liquid may not sound like a recipe for order, but eventually the swarm will go with its own flow.
General Physics
Mar 4, 2019
0
387
Life's genetic code has only ever contained four natural bases. These bases pair up to form two "base pairs"—the rungs of the DNA ladder—and they have simply been rearranged to create bacteria and butterflies, penguins ...
Biotechnology
Jan 23, 2017
1
4105
It's one of the greatest mysteries of modern science: how did life begin exactly? While most scientists believe that all lifeforms evolved from a common, primitive ancestor microorganism, the details are blurry. What kinds ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jul 26, 2016
20
1975
A single-celled marine plankton evolved a miniature version of a multi-cellular eye, possibly to help see its prey better, according to University of British Columbia (UBC) research published today in Nature.
Evolution
Jul 1, 2015
16
3760
In 2011, Nature announced that scientists had discovered a single-celled organism that is a primitive farmer. The organism, a social amoeba called Dictyostelium discoideum, picks up edible bacteria, carries them to new locations ...
Biotechnology
Jul 29, 2013
6
0
