Posted on 07/06/2021 4:52:36 PM PDT by BenLurkin
Deep in the tissues of sea anemones, corals, and jellyfish are strange yellow cells which are genetically distinct from the marine animals.
More than a century after these cells were first assigned a now forgotten genus, a new paper has resurrected the name and described six new species from around the world.
First described in 1881, the yellow things were originally classified under the genus Zooxanthella by scientist Karl Brandt. Brandt also coined the term zooxanthellae, which is used colloquially to this day.
However, another scientist – a Scotsman called Patrick Geddes - was investigating these yellow cells at the same time. In 1882, without having seen Brandt's work, Geddes discovered that not only were the cells separate from the animals they were within (something Brandt had also established), but that they were beneficial, acting as mutualistic symbiotes.
The genus Geddes established to categorize these cells was Philozoon, from the Greek words for 'to love as a friend' and 'animal'. Unfortunately, Brandt came first, so the Philozoon genus was never used; Geddes switched to work in urban planning, and the newly named genus was largely forgotten.
We are now well aware that these odd microorganisms Geddes and Brandt worked on back in the day are photosynthetic dinoflagellates – single-celled algae found in symbiosis with other marine life, such as corals – under the family Symbiodiniaceae.
In the new study, researchers took a closer look at these yellow cells, using genetic data, geographical data and morphology to analyze where exactly they should sit in the genetic tree.
And after determining that these creatures need to be put into a new genus, the team pulled the genus Philozoon out of retirement for two old species and six new ones.
(Excerpt) Read more at sciencealert.com ...
good article with not one mention of global warming, climate change, critical race theory, immigration, or white priviledge.
Very refreshing out of the ‘scientific’ community.
What we experience as multicellular organisms is a wonderfully evolved illusion that converts frequencies of light and sound and molecules of odor and taste into a sensory stream that we call consciousness. The illusion makes us arrogant in the belief that “we” are controlling this mass of cells when in fact the cells only let you experience what you need to know to satisfy the nutritional and and reproductive needs of the cells themselves.
Its also true that we carry ten times more bacterial cells in our bodies that live off our metabolic processes than our own body cells. From the point of view of the bacteria we are like a farm animal that they have domesticated to provide them what they need to survive. The world inside each of us is more complex than all the stars and planets in the universe.
Great comment!
Ping
From the article:”Life finds a way to persist and proliferate.”. How true.
yeah its quite a revelation when you understand that certain cravings you get for say sugary products are function of the sugar bugs in your guts demanding sugar. I’ve learned to starve the sugar bugs and plant other bugs that thrive on complex carbs proteins and fats.,,most of the time.
What a world!
After learning in the last few years about what’s living in my digestive system, now I’m learning about the environment in my respiratory system.
It’s all very “alien”.
Strange that they are yellow, I wonder why...
Apparently they aren’t just tropical, but they are needed for coral reefs. I also wonder if they are used in the world’s biggest reef deep off the shore of Norway IIRC.
did the article talked about cells that could turn light to productive use. That these cells lived in symbiotic relationship with things like coral and jellyfish. I didnt read anything about these cells living in the lungs. but maybe these cells are not healthy additions to the lungs. can you cite the passage that showed that this genus can live in human lungs?
Its not just that foreign bacteria live in the guts—they outnumber human dna. Much of our emotional lives come from that bacteria too—as a function of the food we eat or don’t eat. Further all early life had a nervous system that was primarily involved with digestion. So there is a huge part of our nervous system — of which we are unaware that is devoted to digestion. Indeed scientists find that the same bacteria that live in the gut also inhabit the brains.
A lot of stuff happened in the early part of life on earth. For example cell in our bodies have two sets of genetics. One of the cell and one for the mitochondria. It is believed that the mitochondria fused with these cells in all animals a couple hundred years ago. According to genome.gov
Mitochondrial DNA, unlike nuclear DNA, is inherited from the mother, while nuclear DNA is inherited from both parents. So this is very helpful sometimes in determining how a person has a certain disorder in the family. Sometimes a disease will be inherited through the mother’s line, as opposed to both parents. https://www.genome.gov/genetics-glossary/Mitochondrial-DNA#:~:text=Mitochondrial%20DNA%2C%20unlike%20nuclear%20DNA,as%20opposed%20to%20both%20parents.
The remark about the respiratory system is just referring to learning about it during covid. Not to anything in the article.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.