All Ecology & Evolution articles
-
NewsBat virus evolution suggests wildlife trade sparked COVID-19 virus emergence in humans
The ancestor of the virus that causes COVID-19 left its point of origin in Western China or Northern Laos just several years before the disease first emerged in humans up to 2,700 kilometers away in Central China, suggesting the wildlife trade played a role.
-
NewsThe solution for microbial communities to survive environmental stress is self-sufficiency
Researchers have shown, based on an experimental system that reproduces a mutualistic microbial community, that the most common evolutionary solution for two co-dependent organisms to survive extreme environmental change could be to become self-sufficient.
-
NewsUltimate self-sacrifice: Bacteria activate unusual defense to evade viral attack
Scientists discover that the restriction modification system in some bacteria can kill the cell as a last resort if viruses try to thwart it. They trigger their own death using components of the very same systems that the phages were trying to inhibit.
-
NewsBirds hold remarkable clues to fighting human and animal infections
Researchers have uncovered a remarkable evolutionary adaptation in birds that could hold vital clues for combating avian flu and respiratory infections in humans, including pneumonia and COVID-19.
-
NewsCyanobacterium study reveals how circadian clocks maintain robustness in changing environments
New research has uncovered how a simple circadian clock network demonstrates advanced noise-filtering capabilities, enhancing our understanding of how biological circuits maintain accuracy in dynamic natural environments.
-
NewsIn Croatia’s freshwater lakes, selfish bacteria hoard nutrients, shaping food webs
Researchers have documented ’selfish polysaccharide uptake’ by bacteria in freshwater ecosystems for the first time. They found that nutrient hoarding allows selfish species to dominate over others, which could shape a lake’s food web.
-
NewsResearchers uncover role of fungal circadian clock in pathogenicity
A new study reveals that the circadian clock plays a pivotal role in regulating Fusarium oxysporum’s response to zinc starvation—a core plant defense strategy—as well as in controlling secondary metabolism, thereby enhancing its virulence.
-
NewsScientists discover new microbe phylum cleaning the water in Earth’s deep soil
Scientists have discovered a new phylum of microbes in the Earth’s Critical Zone, an area of deep soil that restores water quality. Ground water, which becomes drinking water, passes through where these microbes live, and they consume the remaining pollutants.
-
NewsParasite avoidance study could shed new light on social distancing’s role in disease prevention
New research could shed light on just how important the simple but understudied strategy of social distancing for avoiding disease might be. The work will look at how organisms evolve to avoid parasites.
-
NewsThe new season of The Last of Us has a spore-ting chance at realism
The trailer for the hit HBO series appears to show the ’zombie fungus’ cordyceps infecting humans by releasing air-borne spores, instead of through tentacles — closer to scientific reality, according to experts.
-
NewsHow a small number of mutations can fuel outbreaks of western equine encephalitis virus
New research shows how small shifts in the molecular makeup of a virus can profoundly alter its fate. These shifts could turn a deadly pathogen into a harmless bug or supercharge a relatively benign virus, influencing its ability to infect humans.
-
NewsMolecular clock analysis shows bacteria used oxygen long before widespread photosynthesis
Researchers have constructed a detailed timeline for bacterial evolution and oxygen adaptation. Their findings suggest some bacteria could use trace oxygen long before evolving the ability to produce it through photosynthesis.
-
NewsAntibiotic resistance among key bacterial species plateaus over time
Scientists studying eight key bacterial species found that while antibiotic resistance initially rises in response to antibiotic use, it does not rise indefinitely. Instead, resistance rates reached an equilibrium over the 20-year period in most species.
-
NewsPrecision medicine could be possible in the fight against antibiotic resistance
The first-of-its-kind in-depth bacterial evolutionary map could pave the way for the development of precision treatments for certain antibiotic-resistant infections, such as urinary tract infections.
-
NewsUrbanization reshapes soil microbes: Bacteria adapt, fungi resist
A groundbreaking study reveals that urban environments favor bacterial generalists, which adapt to diverse conditions, whereas fungi maintain specialized ecological roles. Despite these divergent responses, the functional overlap between bacteria and fungi ensures ecosystem resilience.
-
NewsA borrowed bacterial gene allowed some marine diatoms to live on a seaweed diet
A group of diatom species belonging to the Nitzschia genus gave up on photosynthesis and now get their carbon straight from their environment, thanks to a bacterial gene picked up by an ancestor, a new study shows.
-
NewsAI learns to ‘speak’ genetic ‘dialect’ for future SARS-CoV-2 mutation prediction
Researchers have developed a new method to predict mutations in virus protein sequences called Deep Novel Mutation Search (DNMS), a type of artificial intelligence model that uses deep neural networks.
-
News‘She loves me, she loves me not’: physical forces encouraged evolution of multicellular life, scientists propose
A new study presents a striking example of cooperative organization among cells as a potential force in the evolution of multicellular life. The paper is based on the fluid dynamics of cooperative feeding by Stentor, a relatively giant unicellular organism.
-
NewsWere our blue oceans once green?
Scientists find evidence that our oceans used to be green, suggesting that this may be a sign of primitive life, including that on alien worlds. The study suggests that cyanobacteria once flourished in green seas.
-
NewsCanada is slowest in reporting bird flu – but COVID shows we can do better
A global study was conducted to measure the reporting speed of pandemic-causing bird flu H5N1 in different countries, among which Canada surprisingly came in last, addressing the need for improvements in the current monitoring procedures.