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The tree of life has a new branch

Posted: Thu Feb 27, 2020 2:11 pm
by Woodchopper
The tree of life just got another major branch. Researchers recently found a certain rare and mysterious microbe called a hemimastigote in a clump of Nova Scotian soil. Their subsequent analysis of its DNA revealed that it was neither animal, plant, fungus nor any recognized type of protozoan — that it in fact fell far outside any of the known large categories for classifying complex forms of life (eukaryotes). Instead, this flagella-waving oddball stands as the first member of its own “supra-kingdom” group, which probably peeled away from the other big branches of life at least a billion years ago.
https://www.quantamagazine.org/what-a-n ... -20181211/

Re: The tree of life has a new branch

Posted: Thu Feb 27, 2020 2:14 pm
by Grumble
71349F06-F403-4E86-B48C-AA3AA68B57EE.jpeg
71349F06-F403-4E86-B48C-AA3AA68B57EE.jpeg (68.37 KiB) Viewed 2109 times

Re: The tree of life has a new branch

Posted: Fri Feb 28, 2020 7:27 pm
by jimbob
cool thanks.

Re: The tree of life has a new branch

Posted: Sat Feb 29, 2020 9:30 am
by Martin Y
Well, if they've had a billion years and haven't risen up and murdered us all in our beds I am provisionally happy to extend the flagellum of friendship to these fellows.

Things move kinda slow in NS though so maybe give it another billion to be entirely sure.

Re: The tree of life has a new branch

Posted: Sat Feb 29, 2020 10:29 am
by Martin_B
Martin Y wrote:
Sat Feb 29, 2020 9:30 am
Well, if they've had a billion years and haven't risen up and murdered us all in our beds I am provisionally happy to extend the flagellum of friendship to these fellows.

Things move kinda slow in NS though so maybe give it another billion to be entirely sure.
Wait until they demand the vote - they may outnumber us