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ARCHAELOLOGY. "A complete ancient RNA genome: identification, reconstruction and evolutionary history of archaeological Barley Stripe Mosaic Virus." (~750 years old). https://lnkd.in/dFYnVyz View in LinkedIn

FRAGMENT FROM NATURE. We have journeyed in this string of ideas from mosaicism the individual to division of labor and outsourcing of functionality. Now it continues with evolutionary bolt-ons that are inherited. The endosymbiotic origin of the nucleus, chloroplasts, mitochondria and other organelles may seem improbable. Symbiogenesis theory by Lynn Margulis (1967) proposed that mitochondria and chloroplasts arose by hereditable symbiosis in a huge saltation. Why did it stop there? Or did it? View in LinkedIn

STABLE VIRUS REMAINS. "Preservation of viral genomes in 700-y-old caribou feces from a subarctic ice patch. Our findings indicate that viral genomes may in some circumstances be protected from degradation for centuries." https://lnkd.in/dCwNbPg View in LinkedIn

Kaikoura: 'Most complex quake ever studied' http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-39373846 View in LinkedIn

SPANISH FLU. "Ten vials of virus were created, each containing 10 million infectious virus particles. First they tried infecting mice. All were dead in a matter of days. The experiment was hailed as a “huge breakthrough,” a “tour de force.” “I can’t think of anything bigger that’s happened in virology for many years,” cheered one leading scientist. Not knowing the true identity of the 1918 flu had been “like a dark angel hovering over us." https://lnkd.in/dRywiQq View in LinkedIn

THE VARIABLE VIOME. "The resulting dynamic but metastable equilibrium between the virome and the host can be dangerous, benign, or even symbiotic." https://lnkd.in/b9QHr8w View in LinkedIn

OBLIGATORY SYMBIOSIS. "Virtually all terrestrial arthropod species harbor vertically transmitted microbial endosymbionts that play critical roles in the biology of their hosts. Many well-studied examples involve obligate bacterial endosymbionts (i.e., they are absolutely required for survival and reproduction) that supply their host with essential nutrients that are missing from its diet." https://lnkd.in/dn7-uaE View in LinkedIn

VERTICAL SYMBIONTS. "The vertical transmission of symbiotic microorganisms is omnipresent in insects, while the evolutionary process remains totally unclear. In many cases, host insects and symbiotic microbes have phylogenetic congruence, strongly suggesting that these symbiotic associations have been maintained by strict vertical transmission." https://lnkd.in/dvW6NMZ View in LinkedIn

EXAMPLE OF NICHE EXPANSION. "Aphids and other sap-feeding insects rely on phloem sap or xylem sap as their only food, and these diets are extremely limited in essential amino acids and some vitamins. Use of these unbalanced diets is possible because symbionts supply missing nutrients." https://lnkd.in/dcBwzRs View in LinkedIn

NICHE EXPANSION VIA SYMBIONTS. "On macroevolutionary time scales, symbiont acquisition has often enabled evolutionary diversification and ecological expansion. By acquiring maternally transmitted bacterial symbionts, many insect lineages have succeeded in unlocking new ecological niches, particularly ones that present nutritionally unbalanced diets." https://lnkd.in/dcBwzRs View in LinkedIn