Posted on 05/01/2012 9:33:07 AM PDT by Pharmboy
Researchers from the University of Oslo have discovered a protozoan species that may belong to a new branch of the tree of life, says Popular Science's Rebecca Boyle.
The researchers, who describe their findings in Molecular Biology and Evolution, say they found the microorganism — called Collodictyon — in lake sludge in Norway, and that it may be related to some of the planet's earliest life forms. "It is not a fungus, alga, parasite, plant, or animal, yet it has features associated with other kingdoms of life," Boyle says. "It could be a founding member of the newest kingdom on the tree of life."
It is classified as a eukaryote, but has four flagella, unlike other organisms that have one or two flagella. "Also, the organism has the same internal structure as a parasite, but it uses amoeba-like protuberances to catch its food, which are blue-green algae," she adds. "So again, it combines features from two branches of the eukaryotes." In examining Collodictyon's genes, the researchers say that it probably evolved hundreds of millions of years ago, and has been living the same way since.
So there IS something new under the sun (or sludge, anyway).
So, SC, is this old enough for ya, huh? It’s-all-in-the flagella, ping...
...and I know a lot of Freepers will come to this post thinking it’s about the Dem’s 2012 election strategy. Surprise!
Does anyone else find that statement a bit odd? This basic, single cell life form evolved from a random collision of molecules, picked up a couple of adaptations or copied them from other early life forms, then it was just so perfect there were no other improvements needed for the next billion years. Sounds like classic soft science to me.
When I took archeology back in undergrad, fossils were dated by the depth they were buried. I always wondered how you could bury everything on earth at the same rate given the closed system we live in. I guess there could have been billions of space objects of compatible materials adding to earth's mass, but there's scant evidence of such a phenomenon.
“In examining Collodictyon’s genes, the researchers say that it probably evolved hundreds of millions of years ago, and has been living the same way since.”
Well, at least one creature has found the key to happiness.
Yes...funny you mention it, but that sentence raised a few questions for me, e.g., how did they date its origin? Did they do a DNA analysis?
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| GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother & Ernest_at_the_Beach | |
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Thanks Pharmboy. This got me thinking about cleaning my house a bit more often. |
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Is "parasite" now a kingdom? Perhaps she meant protist?
Never crossed my mind. The "Rising" part ruled out democrats.
I thought fossils were dated not from the depth but from the layer they were found in.
Damn. I thought this was gonna be another salacious ‘inside scoop’ (pardon the Spoonerism) on the Secret Service/Hooker story.
Perhaps not....... Think Burgess Shale.
The creature may be residual
Did you pass the course?
Most study fossils in a geology course
The generally accepted artifact dating method was its depth and if available, the strata it was discovered in.
I'm a CompSci / math guy, but I had to take about 40 credit hours from multiple disciplines. This was more relevant than most so I thought.
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