Eukaryotes

A groundbreaking study by UC Santa Barbara and McGill University has revealed that eukaryotic organisms, including plants, animals, and fungi, were already diverse and complex 1.64 billion years ago, challenging previous assumptions about their evolution. This research, based on newly discovered microfossils, indicates that the diversification of eukaryotes occurred much earlier and under a wider range of environmental conditions than previously thought, offering new insights into the origins and development of complex…

Researchers unveiled 1.63-billion-year-old multicellular fossils from North China, marking the oldest record of multicellular eukaryotes and pushing back the timeline for the emergence of multicellularity in eukaryotes by about 70 million years. This discovery highlights the complexity of early life forms and supports the early appearance of the last eukaryotic common ancestor (LECA) in the evolutionary history. (Artist’s concept.) Credit: SciTechDaily.comResearchers have discovered the oldest multicellular eukaryotic…

Sea lions and dolphins that swim off California’s central coast are dying. Toxic algae blooms off the state’s coast are believed to be stranding and even killing the marine animals at alarming rates, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.Can the Government Change Social Media? | Gizmodo InterviewThe Channel Islands Marine & Wildlife Institute has received over 1,000 reports of sick and dead marine mammals from June 8 through June 14, according to a recent report from the NOAA’s Fisheries…

In the Atlantic Ocean, between the coasts of West Africa and the Caribbean, there’s a disjointed series of mats and clumps of brown, tangled algae known as sargassum seaweed. It’s supposed to be there. Or, at least, some of it is. In the Sargasso Sea—the only sea without a land border, bounded instead by four currents—sargassum offers critical habitat to marine life and is an integral part of the ecosystem.What Was Your First Experience with Super Mario Bros? | io9 InterviewBut in recent years, things have gotten off…

A floating blob of seaweed 5,000 miles across, spanning nearly the whole width of the Atlantic Ocean, is headed for Florida’s Atlantic Coast. The sargassum algae, a brown, branching, stringy seaweed that can turn seawater mud-colored when present in large quantities, is likely to cause serious problems for the Sunshine State as well as the Caribbean and parts of Mexico, per multiple reports.In past sizable seaweed blooms, sargassum has clogged up beaches with hundreds of tons of sticky, matted algae. To make matters even…

Photo: nikkytok (Shutterstock)Florida health officials say a man recently died from a brain-eating amoeba called Naegleria fowleri—an infection likely caught from rinsing his sinuses with tap water. These infections are incredibly rare but almost always lethal, and they have been previously linked to nasal rinsing, such as through the use of neti pots. As a result, it’s recommended that people only use sterile or recently boiled water when performing this activity.In late February, the Florida Department of Health in…