Found in lakes and rivers worldwide, single-celled creatures like these Paramecium bursaria can both eat and photosynthesize. Microbes like this play a double role in climate change, releasing or absorbing carbon dioxide -- the heat-trapping greenhouse gas that is the primary driver of warming -- depending on whether they rely on an animal-like lifestyle or a plant-like lifestyle. Credit: Daniel J. Wieczynski.
Caught on camera: A tiny worm cell hundreds of times smaller than a grain of sand is caught in the act of breaking through the tough outer membrane that normally holds cells in place. Courtesy of the Sherwood lab.
Charmaine Royal’s work on a national committee reviewing the use of population descriptors in genetics and genomics research will help guide researchers to conduct more rigorous research and build stronger relationships with the communities they are studying.