Philosopher as Microbiologist
Noteworthy — It's a fascinating experience, to stumble upon a "philosopher's gem."
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In the Company of Bacteria: Amoebae
by Christoph — In times long past, highly evolved eukaryotes, for example biochemists, occasionally quipped that bacteria were nothing more than a bag of enzymes. Well, from the perspective of bacteria, one could easily return the compliment: eukaryotes, for example single-celled amoebae, are little more than a...
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Putting Redundancy to Work
by Katrina Nguyen — Genetic redundancy, when two genes encode for the same function, is widespread among many organisms. Redundant genes confer an advantage: if one gene is lost, its partner can substitute and the phenotype of the organism will not change. It is unclear how redundancy is maintained during evolution since selection against…
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Naegleria's Split Morphology Disorder
by Psi Wavefunction — By default, a membrane-bound entity like a cell should be a spherical, formless blob. However, most cells are not such formless blobs, but rather have adopted one or more forms from a vast repertory of stunningly complex morphologies. To wit, see (and admire) the radiolarians...
