Friday, September 30, 2011

Single Cells Came Together To Feed

Single Cells Came Together To Feed

The transition from single celled, to multicellular life, is a vital step in evolution. It can occur in two main ways: either single cells merge as some slime moulds do, to form a larger body or single cells can multiply but remain united as a colony. Recent research suggests that the reason why single cells find benefit in sticking together may be because groups of cells can forage for nutrients more efficiently than a single cell. Each cell secretes an enzyme to break down sugars & then absorbs the smaller sugar molecules. By working as a colony all cells benefit from all nearby cell's contribution.



2 comments:

Life probably emerged more than once, in more than one way and under more than one set of circumstances. Life will find a way (IMHO)

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