Conjugation (or mating) of ciliates is a unique phenomenon among living beings. They have sex not for reproduction or pleasure — they seek to increase genetic variation. Scientists from St Petersburg ...

Over a single day, in the placid waters of a single pond, a million virus particles might enter a single-celled organism known for the minuscule hairs, or cilia, that propel it through those waters.

Predator and prey maintain a close relationship to each other: if one evolves, the other must keep pace. Such coevolution and its accompanying selection pressure leads to mutual adaptation of the two ...

Ciliates represent a remarkably diverse group of unicellular eukaryotes that possess a dual nuclear organisation—a germline micronucleus and a somatic macronucleus—that underpins their extraordinary ...