All Ecology & Evolution articles – Page 8
-
NewsBioinformatics professor discovers surprising evolutionary pattern in landmark yeast study
A new study challenges accepted frameworks within which yeast evolution is studied and provide access to an incredibly rich yeast analysis dataset that could have major implications for future evolutionary biology and bioinformatics research.
-
NewsThe rise of microbial cheaters in iron-limited environments
Competition and cooperation are fundamental forces that govern the evolutionary and ecological dynamics among species. The balance between these forces varies across ecological contexts, with some environments favoring cooperative behaviors that promote mutual benefit, while others reward competitive strategies that maximize individual fitness. Among microbial communities, chemicals ...
-
NewsSynthetic droplets cause a stir in the primordial soup
A synthetic droplet may give researchers clues on how the simplest forms of life on the planet could navigate their surroundings.
-
NewsUndiscovered diversity of Micropsalliota: Seven new species and one newly recorded species in southern China
Multi-gene phylogeny and morphological characters reveal seven new species of Micropsalliota (Agaricales, Agaricaceae) from southern China, with an updated key for the species distributed in China.
-
NewsCoral identified as oldest bioluminescent organism, suggesting new model of ancient ecology
Researchers have identified eight organisms with previously unknown luminosity. Using genetic findings, they estimated coral bioluminescence originated about 540 million years ago in the Cambrian period, making them the earliest bioluminescent organisms.
-
NewsYeast study helps answer age-old biology question of specialists vs. generalists
Researchers have mapped the genetic blueprints, appetites, and environments of more than 1,000 species of yeasts, building a family tree that illuminates how these single-celled fungi evolved over the past 400 million years.
-
NewsNew technology uncovers mechanism affecting generation of new COVID variants
Researchers have developed a new technology called tARC-seq that revealed a genetic mechanism affecting SARS-CoV-2 divergence and enabled the team to calculate SARS-CoV-2’s mutation rate.
-
NewsLongest known SARS-CoV-2 infection of 613 days led to unique highly mutated variant
New research to be presented at next week’s ESCMID Global Congress highlights the risk of new immune-evasive SARS-CoV-2 variants emerging in immunocompromised patients.
-
NewsDiscovery of bacterial proteins that induce asexual reproduction in insects
From microbes in the human gut to symbiotic algae in coral reefs, research in recent decades has increasingly revealed the pivotal roles that microorganisms (or microbial species) play in shaping the biology of host organisms and of broader ecosystems. For example, some endosymbionts—microbes that live within the cells of a ...
-
NewsStudy confirms how RNA chemical modifications benefit HIV-1
A chemical modification in the HIV-1 RNA genome whose function has been a matter of scientific debate is now confirmed to be key to the virus’s ability to survive and thrive after infecting host cells, a new study has found.
-
NewsThe nitroplast revealed: a nitrogen-fixing organelle in a marine alga
A nitrogen-fixing bacterial endosymbiont of marine algae is evolving into a nitrogen-fixing organelle, or nitroplast, thereby expanding a function that was thought to be exclusively carried out by prokaryotic cells to eukaryotes.
-
NewsA novel SIRSVIDE framework with application to SARS-CoV-2 dynamics
Researchers have developed a novel computational model that not only incorporates basic principles of epidemiology but also integrates key features of viral mutation and evolution.
-
NewsNew study finds possibility of nitrogen-fixing organelles
Scientists who discovered nitrogen-fixing symbiotic organisms exhibiting behaviors similar to organelles suggest these symbiotic organisms – UCYN-A, a species of cyanobacteria – may be evolving organelle-like characteristics.
-
NewsWild nematode worms learn to avoid harmful bacteria—and their offspring inherit this knowledge
The nematode worm C. elegans will stay away from dangerous bacteria in its environment when exposed to certain bacterial RNAs—and can transmit that learned behavior to future generations.
-
NewsResearchers discover evolutionary “tipping point” in fungi
Scientists have found a ‘tipping point’ in the evolution of fungi that throttles their growth and sculpts their shapes, demonstrating how small changes in environmental factors can lead to huge changes in evolutionary outcomes.
-
NewsResearch uncovers a new path to drug diversity
By exploring protein evolution, scientists have found new “fusion sites” that enable faster and more targeted drug development.
-
NewsStudy reveals how hydrogen supplied energy at life’s origin
A new report uncovers how hydrogen gas provided energy in the past, at the origin of life 4 billion years ago.
-
NewsCellulose-degrading gut bacteria found in the human gut, although at lower levels in industrialized countries
Previously undescribed human gut bacteria that aid in the digestion of plant cellulose are scarce in urban societies but abundant in ancient and hunter-gatherer microbiomes, according to a new study.
-
NewsThe who’s who of bacteria: A reliable way to define species and strains
Scientists investigated natural divisions in bacteria with a goal of determining a scientifically viable method for organizing them into species and strains.
-
NewsIndustrious communities can create cheaters, even in bacteria
These colorful patterns are proof that bacteria and humans aren’t all that different — both harbor individuals that will take the easy way out when given the chance. And that lifestyle can quickly spread to the detriment of all.