The algae's accent

Acetabularia, subtropical green algae from the class of Ulvophyceae.

Different cultures around the world have sought to explain the multitude of human languages. In the Bible you can find the story of the Tower of Babel, set in a time when all of humanity spoke one language. The unity that this common language instilled allowed these people to do great things. But when they [...]

Spiky cells betray parasite's origins

The stage of Myxozoan cerebralis in which it infects fish. The polar bodies the darker parts in the upper right and are used for entering the host fish.

The saying “To know your future, you must know your past” is of special value to biologists. There’s no better way to understand an organism, than by it’s ancestry. It’s the only way creatures make any sense really! From appendices to tail bones, a species evolutionary past can sheds light on otherwise unexplainable features. But [...]

The Ancestry of the Malarial Plasmid Revealed

The malaria parasite, plasmodium falciparum, infecting red blood cells (source National Geographic).

Suppose you’re nearing the end of your life. In a strange twist of fate, you won the lottery. You decide to split the jackpot equally between your two children. While one child uses the money to fund a charity dedicated to fighting poverty, the other one uses it to start the crime syndicate he has [...]