Life on Earth is indeed an astounding phenomenon. Just imagine. A single cell keeps on dividing itself until it forms into something more complex — a multicellular being. This phenomenon of single-celled organisms transforming into multicellular organisms has happened at least 20 times throughout the history of life on Earth. However, with great complexity come great responsibility. Compared to single-celled organisms that only live to "eat and divide" over and over, multicellularity has much more processes and dangers.
But how do single-celled life transition to multicellular life? That's what biologist William Ratcliff and his colleagues investigated for nearly a decade.
Today, they reported that they have successfully transformed unicellular yeasts into complex multicellular clusters. These clusters are said to be visible to the naked eye.
Learn more about their research over at Quanta Magazine.
(Video Credit: Ratcliff Lab, Georgia Tech)
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(Image Credit: Ratcliff Lab, Georgia Tech)