"When grown in high-nutrient media, Rugositalea oryzae produced smooth, rod-shaped cells. Grown in low-nutrient media, however, they showed wrinkles and transformed into shapes similar to fusilli pasta. By producing these wrinkles, cells can hold more transporters in the cell membrane to take up more nutrients from the environment."
Complex #life began to develop earlier, and over a longer span of time, than previously believed.
Nee findings indicate that complex organisms evolved long before there were substantial levels of #oxygen in the #atmosphere, something which had previously been considered a prerequisite to the #evolution of complex life.
The #earth is approximately 4.5 billion years old, with the first #microbial life forms appearing over 4 billion years ago.
These organisms consisted of two groups – #bacteria and the distinct but related #archaea, collectively known as #prokaryotes.
Prokaryotes were the only form of life on earth for hundreds of millions of years, until more complex eukaryotic cells including organisms such as #algae, #fungi, #plants and #animals evolved.
Previous ideas on how and when early prokaryotes transformed into complex #eukaryotes has largely been in the realm of speculation. Estimates have spanned a billion years, as no intermediate forms exist and definitive fossil evidence has been lacking.
By collecting evidence from multiple #gene families in multiple biological systems and focusing on the features which distinguish eukaryotes from prokaryotes, researchers were able to begin to piece together the developmental pathway for complex life.
They obtained evidence that the transition began almost 2.9 billion years ago – almost a billion years earlier than by some other estimates – suggesting that the nucleus and other internal structures appear to have evolved significantly before #mitochondria.
The process of cumulative complexification seems to have taken place over a much longer time period than previously thought.
We're in court fighting for clean creeks and a healthy Bay! 💪
A few years ago, our investigators found that Sunnyvale and Mountain View's runoff contained high levels of bacteria--around 50x what's legally allowed. What's more, the runoff was being discharged into local creeks. So we sued under the #CleanWaterAct.
Since then, we've tried to work with the cities to address their problems, but they have refused to take responsibility. So now we're in court to prove our case and demand they do right by their residents and the Bay's waters.
Pictured: the Baykeeper team in San Jose before arguing our case against the cities for releasing bacteria pollution into Bay creeks
How a Changing Climate Is Reshaping the Spread of Infectious Diseases
"...Then you have this convergence of crises—the #ClimateCrisis overlapping with the #PollutionCrisis. So you get this intersection between air pollution and respiratory #diseases, and then infectious diseases more broadly, all layered on top of a changing #climate.
When it comes to waterborne and foodborne diseases, the link to #ClimateChange is even more direct. As temperatures rise, you create more favorable conditions for #bacteria and other #pathogens to multiply. They thrive in warm environments—soil, water, contaminated areas—so warming can increase their abundance.
#ExtremeWeather events are also a big factor here. Aedes #mosquitoes need water to complete their life cycle—from egg to larva to pupa, it all happens in #water. When #floods occur, all the discarded #plastic and #trash lying around fill with water and becomes the ideal breeding ground for mosquitoes.
What’s interesting is that these diseases aren’t just associated with floods—they’re also linked to #droughts. That might seem counterintuitive at first, but in many parts of the world, people don’t have safe, reliable access to clean water, especially during drought conditions. So they store water in containers that aren’t properly sealed or protected, which too can become the perfect breeding sites for mosquitoes.
Infections—particularly vector-borne diseases—are increasingly reemerging and emerging in new areas around the world for a lot of different reasons. Climate change is definitely part of that, with rising temperatures and more extreme weather events like floods and droughts. But the way we live our lives and interact with the environment also plays a huge role. I mean, first and foremost, most of us now live in urban areas rather than rural ones..."
Mosquitoes, for example, rely heavily on ambient temperature. They’re ectotherms, meaning they depend on room temperature to function. Every vector species has multiple traits that are influenced by temperature. If you map all those temperature-dependent traits, you can build a curve that shows the optimal temperature range for that vector.
Depending on where you fall on that curve, if you’re already past the peak and temperatures keep rising, there’s actually the potential for a decrease in transmission risk.
But these systems are highly nuanced. It’s not just about temperature—it’s also about human behavior and how we alter natural habitats. And vectors can evolve, too. So it’s almost like we’re in a race with other organisms to adapt more quickly.
"First we did it with manganese. Later we did it with nickel and lithium. And then we used a different strain of bacteria and we were able to extract cobalt and nickel.”
University of Edinburgh scientists are using bacteria helping to extract rare metals from old batteries to help create a circular green economy.
Prof. Rosane Freitas Schwan: "The microbial #fermentation process of #cocoa beans successively involves a wide range of #yeasts, lactic acid & acetic acid #bacteria. The pulp is rich in citric acid but low in oxygen; conditions that favour the initial colonization by #yeasts. The abundant diversity of yeasts involved in cocoa fermentation is a true testament to the complexity and richness of this process."