All Ecology & Evolution articles – Page 10
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NewsMicrobes reveal Mesolithic tooth decay and gum disease
Members of a hunter-gatherer group that lived in south-western Scandinavia during the Mesolithic era — approximately 10,000 years ago — may have been affected by tooth decay and gum disease, according to a new microbial study.
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NewsMicrofossils shed light on the long fossil record of euglenoids
Scientists have shed new light on a group of ‘problematic’ microfossils that have remained a mystery for nearly a century.
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NewsResearchers create light-powered yeast, providing insights into evolution, biofuels, cellular aging
Researchers have engineered one of the world’s first strains of yeast that may be happier with the lights on.
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NewsStudy uncovers potential origins of life in ancient hot springs
Scientists have found that by mixing hydrogen, bicarbonate, and iron-rich magnetite under conditions mimicking relatively mild hydrothermal vent results in the formation of a spectrum of organic molecules.
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NewsEven the oldest eukaryote fossils show dazzling diversity and complexity
Researchers reveal that eukaryotic organisms had already evolved into a diverse array of forms even 1.64 billion years ago.
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NewsPhages pay heavy price for environmental intel - but it’s worth it
Phages, the viruses that infect bacteria, will pay a high growth-rate cost to access environmental information that can help them choose which lifecycle to pursue, according to a study. Source: L. F. Lee; J. A. Boezi Bacteriophage gh-1 for Pseudomonas putida. Yigal Meir and colleagues at Ben-Gurion ...
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NewsOldest thylakoids in fossil cyanobacteria uncover evolution of photosynthesis
Researchers have identified microstructures in fossil cells that are 1.75 billion years old. These structures, called thylakoid membranes, are the oldest ever discovered.
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NewsTB cases in humans tens of thousands of years earlier than previosuly detected
Recent research suggests that the emergence of tuberculosis infection in human populations dates back tens of thousands of years earlier than previously known cases in the Middle East.
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NewsDeadly chicken disease: ancient DNA reveals evolution of virulence
Using genetic analyses, an international team has revealed the evolutionary history of the pathogen of a fatal disease in chickens.
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NewsAncient DNA reveals how a chicken virus evolved to become more deadly
Scientists have used ancient DNA to trace the evolution of Marek’s Disease Virus (MDV), showing how viruses evolve to become more virulent and could lead to the development of better ways to treat viral infections.
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NewsNew understanding of ancient genetic parasite may spur medical breakthroughs
Scientists have published the first high-resolution images and structural details of a virus-like element known as LINE-1, describing it as “an ancient genetic parasite” that is one of the most common parts of human DNA.
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NewsFermentation may have driven human brain evolution
While some have theorized that the use of fire and the invention of cooking gave our ancestors enough nourishment for our larger-brained ancestors to become dominant, a new theory points to a different spark - fermentation.
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NewsNew study highlights COVID-19’s adaptive strategy for infection
Researchers have discovered a novel mechanism whereby the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19, can vary its mode of infection in human cells.
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NewsIce core proposal could revolutionise antibiotic discovery
A perspective article outlines a revolutionary approach to antibiotic discovery using ice cores, at a time when antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is projected to cause 10 million deaths per year by 2050.
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NewsStudy solves mystery behind bacteria’s extensive weaponry
A new study has shed light on why certain species of bacteria carry astonishing arsenals of weapons. The findings could help us to engineer microbes that can destroy deadly pathogens, reducing our reliance on antibiotics.
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NewsPlants that survived dinosaur extinction aided by microbes to pull nitrogen from air
Scientists have found that the cycad species that survived extinction relied on symbiotic bacteria in their roots, which provide them with nitrogen to grow.
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NewsBacteria store memories and pass them on for generations
Scientists have discovered that bacteria can create something like memories about when to form strategies that can cause dangerous infections in people, such as resistance to antibiotics and bacterial swarms.
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NewsHow green algae count cell divisions reveals key step needed for multicellular life
Scientists have made an unexpected discovery of a biased counting mechanism used by the single-celled green alga Chlamydomonas to control cell division.
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NewsRecreation of ancient seawater reveals which nutrients shaped the evolution of early life
Scientists know very little about conditions in the ocean when life first evolved, but new research published in Nature Geoscience has revealed how geological processes controlled which nutrients were available to fuel their development. All life uses nutrients such as zinc and copper to form proteins. The ...
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NewsLongstanding mystery of phosphite solved with help of sewage plant
Biologists have discovered a phosphorus-based bacterial metabolism that is both new and ancient, thanks to a calculation from the 1980s, a sewage plant, a new bacterial organism, and a remnant from around 2.5 billion years ago.