Protists have been making the news. Here are some of the big stories from the past few months.
“Climate change threatens marine plankton, as evidenced by the example of foraminifera. Warming stifles ocean circulation that brings nutrients from the deep to the surface. The accumulation of carbon dioxide dissolved in water renders oceans more acidic, making it harder for foraminifera to build their shells. The abundance of foraminifera has already dropped by nearly a quarter since the 1940s, with many species migrating away from the equator and deeper in the water column to survive.”
Popular article: https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2024/11/13/plankton-food-study/
Related original articles: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-05694-5, https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-08029-0,
” Protists support the growth of plants by ferrying helpful, nitrogen-fixing bacteria deep into their root systems. They could shore up the World’s food supply.”
Popular article: https://today.uconn.edu/2023/04/field-research-how-the-humble-protist-could-shore-up-the-worlds-food-supply/
Original article: https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/aem.01819-22
“The first example of cellular origami discovered in a ciliate. The researchers suggested that it may be possible to apply this design to machines like space telescopes and surgical robots.”
Popular article: https://www.labroots.com/trending/microbiology/27296/perfect-cellular-origami-disocovered-protist
Original article: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adk5511
“The ‘cat parasite’ Toxoplasma gondii was engineered to deliver drugs to the human brain.“
Popular article: https://english.tau.ac.il/research/parasite-becomes-brain-cure
Original article: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41564-024-01750-6
“A new malaria vaccine tested in a large clinical trial in Africa seems to be safe and very effective at protecting young children against malaria. The World Health Organization recently recommended its use across Africa.“
Popular article: https://tdr.who.int/newsroom/news/item/21-04-2024-new-lancet-publication-highlights-safety-and-efficacy-of-r21-malaria-vaccine
Original article: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(23)02511-4/fulltext?s=08
“Scientists have developed and successfully tested a substance against a deadly parasite, Naegleria fowleri.”
Popular article: https://www.avcr.cz/en/news-archive/New-weapons-against-brain-eating-and-tropical-diseases-thanks-to-BIOCEV/
Original article: https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/aac.01506-22
“Prof. Patrick Keeling (University of British Columbia, Canada) and Prof. Julius Lukeš (Institute of Parasitology and University of South Bohemia, Czech Republic), both long-time members of ISOP, have been elected to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences this year! Election to the National Academy is one of the highest honors in science.“
Patrick Keeling’s profile: https://www.nasonline.org/directory-entry/patrick-j-keeling-j3j5ba/
Julius Lukeš’s profile: https://www.nasonline.org/directory-entry/julius-lukes-j40ssk/ (Be sure to check out his recent interview for ISOP in the newsletter)
