All Ecology & Evolution articles – Page 2
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NewsCell death in microalgae resembles that in humans
For the first time, researchers have observed the same type of programmed cell death in microalgae as in humans. The discovery shows that this central biological process is older than previously thought.
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NewsScientists reveal functional RNA splitting mechanism behind origin of Type V CRISPR systems
Researchers have uncovered the molecular innovation that led to the origin of Type V CRISPR-Cas immune systems. Their findings show that the functional splitting of transposon-derived RNAs was the critical innovation driving the emergence of Type V CRISPR-Cas immunity.
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NewsGenetic culprits IDed in capture of 100 years of antibiotic resistance evolution
The genetic culprits responsible for the spread of multidrug resistance (MDR) in bacteria have been identified by new research mapping 100 years of bacterial evolution.
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NewsHot springs in Japan give insight into ancient microbial life on Earth
Iron-oxidising bacteria in the iron-rich hot springs suggest early microbes used iron and trace oxygen, not sunlight, as their primary energy source during the planet’s shift from a low-oxygen to a high-oxygen atmosphere about 2.3 billion years ago.
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NewsKey to the riddle of sleep may be linked to bacteria
New research suggests a new paradigm in understanding sleep, demonstrating that a substance in the mesh-like walls of bacteria, known as peptidoglycan, is naturally present in the brains of mice and closely aligned with the sleep cycle.
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NewsMagic mushrooms invent active compound twice
A study shows that fungi have developed the ability to produce psilocybin at least twice independently of each other. While Psilocybe species use a known enzyme toolkit for this purpose, fiber cap mushrooms employ a different biochemical arsenal – and yet arrive at the same molecule.
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NewsIn the wild, chimpanzees likely ingest the equivalent of several alcoholic drinks every day
The first-ever measurements of the ethanol content of fruits available to chimpanzees in their native African habitat show that the animals could easily consume the equivalent of more than two standard alcoholic drinks each day.
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NewsCheese fungi color changes help unlock secrets of evolution
Color changes in fungi on cheese rinds point to specific molecular mechanisms of genetic adaptation—and sometimes a tastier cheese.
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NewsSwitch on, switch off: the dynamic defense of a deadly plant disease
Even strains of Phytophthora infestans considered sensitive to mefenoxam can rapidly develop resistance after a single exposure to a low dose. Researchers have uncovered the dynamics of this defense mechanism, revealing a foe that is more adaptable than previously thought.
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NewsExtreme diatoms inside the Arctic ice glide into the record books
Diatoms found in polar ice are active until temperatures drop to -15 C - the lowest ever recorded for movement by a eukaryotic cell.
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NewsFighting extinction, coral reefs show signs of adapting to warming seas
By studying how six months of elevated ocean temperatures would affect a species of coral from the northern Red Sea, scientists found that although these organisms can certainly survive in conditions that mimic future warming trends, they don’t thrive.
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NewsLess is more: Gene loss drives adaptive evolution of a pandemic bacterium
A study reveals a surprising evolutionary insight: sometimes, losing genes rather than gaining them can help bacterial pathogens survive and thrive. The research focused on Vibrio parahaemolyticus, a bacterium behind many of the seafood-related infections worldwide.
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NewsAncient mammoth remains yield the world’s oldest host-associated bacterial DNA
An international team has uncovered microbial DNA preserved in woolly and steppe mammoth remains dating back more than one million years. The analyses reveal some of the world’s oldest microbial DNA ever recovered, as well as the identification of bacteria that possibly caused disease in mammoths.
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NewsTiny ocean partnership between algae and bacteria reveals secrets of evolution
The microscopic alliance between algae and bacteria offers rare, step-by-step snapshots of how bacteria lose genes and adapt to increasing host dependence, a new study shows.
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NewsBacteria survive dust storms and introduce new genetic traits into our air
Bacterial communities carried from Africa to Israel survive their airborne journey, arriving with genes that may affect human health and the environment, a new study reveals.
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NewsDeadly infectious bone disease wiped out long-necked dinosaurs in Brazil
Researchers found sauropod bones with signs of osteomyelitis, an infectious disease that can be caused by viruses, bacteria, fungi, or protozoa and that killed the animals quickly. The discovery suggests that favorable conditions for the disease existed.
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NewsNew research rewrites origins of world’s first recorded pandemic - the Plague of Justinian
For the first time, researchers have uncovered direct genomic evidence of the bacterium behind the Plague of Justinian — the world’s first recorded pandemic — in the Eastern Mediterranean, where the outbreak was first described nearly 1,500 years ago.
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NewsTiny creatures, big insights: The microbial signature of the sea uncovered by copepods
A new study has revealed that tiny planktonic crustaceans carry a unique microbial signature that better reflects ocean currents and environmental gradients than microbes found freely in seawater.
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News‘Controlled evolution’ dramatically boosts pDNA production for biomedical manufacturing
Researchers have controlled the evolution of E. coli bacteria in the lab in order to dramatically increase the amount of plasmid DNA (pDNA) these modified bacteria produce. pDNA is an essential – and expensive – ingredient in many gene therapies.
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NewsScientists trace the evolution of the H5N1 virus
Researchers have discovered that the currently circulating 2.3.4.4b clade of H5N1 has specific mutations in its genome that increase its human adaptive potential.