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Viviane Callier

An artist’s 3D illustration of chromosomes splitting and fusing together.
genomics

Secrets of Early Animal Evolution Revealed by Chromosome ‘Tectonics’

By Viviane Callier
February 2, 2022
Read Later

Large blocks of genes conserved through hundreds of millions of years of evolution hint at how the first animal chromosomes came to be.

Photo of a flying fish gliding over the open water.
developmental biology

Flying Fish and Aquarium Pets Yield Secrets of Evolution

By Viviane Callier
January 5, 2022
Read Later

New studies reveal the ancient, shared genetic “grammar” underpinning the diverse evolution of fish fins and tetrapod limbs.

Photo of the freshwater sponge Spongilla.
evolution

Sponge Genes Hint at the Origins of Neurons and Other Cells

By Viviane Callier
November 4, 2021
Read Later

A new study of gene expression in sponges reveals the complex diversity of their cells as well as some possibly ancient connections between the nervous, immune and digestive systems.

Photo of a rove beetle standing on a leaf and arching its abdomen.
evolution

How Do New Organs Evolve? A Beetle Gland Shows the Way.

By Viviane Callier
August 16, 2021
Read Later

The evolution of a defensive gland in beetles shows how organs can arise from novel cells carving out new functional niches for their neighbors.

Photo of the blue-winged leafbird of Southeast Asia.
explainers

How Animals Color Themselves With Nanoscale Structures

By Viviane Callier
June 16, 2021
Read Later

Animals sculpt the optical properties of their tissues at the nanoscale to give themselves “structural colors.” New work is piecing together how they do it.

Illustration of DNA spooling around the histones in a classic nucleosome, with diverse animal life in the background.
molecular biology

DNA’s Histone Spools Hint at How Complex Cells Evolved

By Viviane Callier
May 10, 2021
Read Later

New work shows that histones, long treated as boring spools for DNA, sit at the center of the origin story of eukaryotes and continue to play important roles in evolution and disease.

A drawing of a piece of folded paper going back and forth between paper airplane and paper bird shapes.
Abstractions blog

Some Proteins Change Their Folds to Perform Different Jobs

By Viviane Callier
February 3, 2021
Read Later

Unusual proteins that can quickly fold into different shapes provide cells with a novel regulatory mechanism.

Looping video of chloroplasts moving within the walled cells of the pond plant Elodea.
Abstractions blog

Plant Cells of Different Species Can Swap Organelles

By Viviane Callier
January 20, 2021
Read Later

In grafted plants, shrunken chloroplasts can jump between species by slipping through unexpected gateways in cell walls.

Video artwork showing yellow blobs move, merge, split, shrink and enlarge inside a clear cube.
molecular biology

A Newfound Source of Cellular Order in the Chemistry of Life

By Viviane Callier
January 7, 2021
Read Later

Inside cells, droplets of biomolecules called condensates merge, divide and dissolve. Their dance may regulate vital processes.


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About the author

Viviane Callier is a freelance science journalist. She was a Churchill Scholar at the University of Cambridge and holds a Ph.D. in biology from Duke University.

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