Science News Roundup: Deep-sea microbe sheds light on primordial evolutionary milestone


Devdiscourse News Desk | Updated: 18-01-2020 03:14 IST | Created: 18-01-2020 02:29 IST
Science News Roundup: Deep-sea microbe sheds light on primordial evolutionary milestone

Following is a summary of current science news briefs.

Deep-sea microbe sheds light on primordial evolutionary milestone

A microorganism scooped up in deep-sea mud off Japan's coast has helped scientists unlock the mystery of one of the watershed evolutionary events for life on Earth: the transition from the simple cells that first colonized the planet to complex cellular life - fungi, plants, and animals including people. Researchers said on Wednesday they were able to study the biology of the microorganism, retrieved from depths of about 1.5 miles (2.5 km), after coaxing it to grow in the laboratory. They named it Prometheoarchaeum syntrophicum, referring to the Greek mythological figure Prometheus who created humankind from clay and stole fire from the gods.

(With inputs from agencies.)

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