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multicellularity

Latest Articles

microbiology

Ocean Bacteria Reveal an Unexpected Multicellular Form

By Carrie Arnold
November 2, 2022
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Marine bacteria normally seen as single cells join together as a “microscopic snow globe” to consume bulky floating carbohydrates.

Image of Trichoplax adhaerens moving against a black background.
biomechanics

This Animal’s Behavior Is Mechanically Programmed

By Jordana Cepelewicz
March 16, 2022
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Biomechanical interactions, rather than neurons, control the movements of one of the simplest animals. The discovery offers a glimpse into how animal behavior worked before neurons evolved.

2021 in Review

The Year in Biology

By John Rennie
December 21, 2021
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The detailed understanding of brains and multicellular bodies reached new heights this year, while the genomes of the COVID-19 virus and various organisms yielded more surprises.

Micrograph of snowflake yeast.
evolution

Single Cells Evolve Large Multicellular Forms in Just Two Years

By Veronique Greenwood
September 22, 2021
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Researchers have discovered that environments favoring clumpy growth are all that’s needed to quickly transform single-celled yeast into complex multicellular organisms.

developmental biology

Cells Form Into ‘Xenobots’ on Their Own

By Philip Ball
March 31, 2021
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Embryonic cells can self-assemble into new living forms that don’t resemble the bodies they usually generate, challenging old ideas of what defines an organism.

Stalks and spore bodies of a slime mold rise above a smooth surface.
Abstractions blog

Out-of-Sync ‘Loners’ May Secretly Protect Orderly Swarms

By Jordana Cepelewicz
May 21, 2020
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Studies of collective behavior usually focus on how crowds of organisms coordinate their actions. But what if the individuals that don’t participate have just as much to tell us?

A split level photo shows algae growing on rocks both above and below the surface of the water at a margin of a Welsh glacial lake.
Abstractions blog

Billion-Year-Old Algae and Newer Genes Hint at Land Plants’ Origin

By Dana Najjar
March 26, 2020
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A recently unearthed fossil and new genomic discoveries are filling important gaps in scientists’ understanding of how primitive green algae eventually evolved into land vegetation.

Abstractions blog

Can New Species Evolve From Cancers? Maybe. Here’s How.

By Christie Wilcox
August 19, 2019
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Researchers agree it’s a long shot, but transmissible cancers could theoretically evolve into independent species. Certain weird parasites might be living proof.

evolution

Scientists Debate the Origin of Cell Types in the First Animals

By Jordana Cepelewicz
July 17, 2019
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Theories about how animals became multicellular are shifting as researchers find greater complexity in our single-celled ancestors.


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