by Christoph — In this episode, again three bookmarks that came to my attention while cleaning up our account on 𝕏 (formerly Twitter) and that are not at all out of date. Give them a brief look and judge for yourself. Here is Lost & Found #6. Read more →
Pseudouridine Stabilizes tRNA
Noteworthy — The modified nucleoside pseudouridine has many reasons to be considered a star among post-transcriptional RNA modifications. It was the first to be identified, in 1960. Incorporating it into mRNA vaccines was a big reason for their success. And it also shows up in numerous antibiotics. Now there's more. Read more →
Evolution of Ant-Fungus Farming
by Mechas — Agriculture has triggered enormous changes in human society. But it is not unique to humans. Read more →
Living Construction Materials
Noteworthy — The production of cement – used as a binder in concrete – has a high carbon footprint, accounting for 5%–8% of anthropogenic CO2 emissions. The search for alternative materials with reduced impact on global warming has come up with some interesting options. Read more →
Cultivating the Ancestors (4|4)
by Christoph — Having one or two 'Asgard' archaea under the microscope – after having cultivated them with great effort and even more patience – and looking them in the face is exciting, but a bit unsatisfying if they are cousins. Are they mavericks or rather typical for "Lokis"? Here are the portraits of two more distant relatives, both also cousins: Margulisarchaeum peptidophila HC1 and Flexarchaeum multiprotrusionis SC1. Read more →
Of Aerobes and Anaerobes
Noteworthy — When first introduced to microbes, we quickly learn to divide them into aerobes and anaerobes. Then we qualify those titles with modifiers to yield such classes as facultative anaerobes, obligate aerobes and strict anaerobes. Read more →
Cultivating the Ancestors (3|4)
by Christoph — There was joy, even excitement among archaeologists when the first images of Promethearchaeum syntrophicum MK‑D1 made the rounds. This sense of joy deepend still when images of its cousin Lokiarchaeon ossiferum Loki-B35 were added a little later. The ancestors suddenly got their own faces, literally, and were no longer only vaguely recognizable from genome sequences! Read more →
Promising New Antimicrobials
Noteworthy — Amid the turmoil and uncertainty of our times, one fact is undeniable: microbes continue to evolve. Read more →
Cultivating the Ancestors… (2|4)
by Christoph — Based on their knowledge of the morphology of P. syntrophicum MK-D1 from electron microscopy and their knowledge of its physiology from growth assays and genome analysis, Imachi, Nobu et al. (2020) propose a hypothetical model, the E3 model, of how the first evolutionary steps towards eukaryogenesis might have occurred in an ancestral archaeon living ~2 billion years ago. Read more →
Anticipating Seasons
Noteworthy — While plants and animals can measure differences in the length of days and nights bacteria, with their short life spans, would not be expected to do so. Read more →