Read Veronique Greenwood's article on our changing knowledge of the origin of complex life and the remarcable achievements of the Archaea Biology and Ecogenomics Unit:
"The search for your missing single-cell ancestor is heating up"
"...13 years ago, in deep-sea sediments north of Norway, scientists exploring near a hydrothermal vent found something that promises, at last, some answers. In that mud were archaea — single-celled organisms that look like bacteria. And in these particular archaea, the scientists later realized, were genes that had strong links to ours. They even had genes for a kind of actin, a protein that forms fibers within a eukaryotic cell and controls its shape. The Asgard archaea, as the scientists eventually called this group, look like they can help us understand what bridged the gap between prokaryotes and eukaryotes. ..."
Read the full article here: The search for your missing single-cell ancestor is heating up - The Boston Globe
Or download below.
