Evolving multicellularity is easy, especially in phototrophs and osmotrophs whose multicells feed like unicells. Evolving animals was much harder and unique; probably only one pathway via benthic ...

The top image is a fluorescence micrograph of a dividing solitary choanoflagellate showing its DNA (blue) and flagella and mitotic spindle (green). A small choanoflagellate colony is shown below, with ...

Scientists have identified a previously unknown microscopic organism in Eastern Sierra Nevada's Mono Lake that could provide insights into the origins of complex animal life on Earth. The newfound ...

Triggered by the presence of bacteria, the single-celled choanoflagellate Salpingoeca rosetta divides and aggregates with its sisters to form a colony. One reason may be that the colony is a more ...

A new study published in Science Advances reveals evidence of electrical signaling and coordinated behavior in choanoflagellates, the closest living relatives of animals. This elaborate example of ...

Up-to-date computational pipeline characterizes G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) repertoires in the closest relatives of metazoans, providing a framework to investigate the evolutionary origins and ...

In a groundbreaking experiment, researchers have brought a mouse to life with the help of a single-celled organism that existed long before any multicellular animals walked the earth. Genetic research ...

Choanoflagellates are single-celled plankton and the closest living relatives of animals, including humans. Molecular biologists have found that these organisms form colonies only when triggered by ...