Elizabeth Wilbanks, lead author on this study, is an MBL Whitman Fellow and a microbiologist at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Bacterial superorganisms must evolve defenses to fight off infections, and microbiologists found that they use a weapons cache coincidentally similar to that of the human immune system. The vast majority of bacteria are single-celled creatures that compete with one another for survival. However, some bacteria team up to build multicellular communities. While loner bacteria boast impressive genetic diversity, cooperating bugs are genetically similar to ens ..read more

The ocean plays a vital role in Earth’s carbon cycle, acting as a vast sink that absorbs atmospheric carbon dioxide. Understanding how carbon moves from the ocean’s surface to its depths is crucial for modeling climate change. New research from Brown University, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and the Marine Biological Laboratory sheds light on a previously overlooked mechanism: oceanic intrusions. What are oceanic intrusions? Oceanic intrusions are fascinating and complex phenomena that occur when water masses of different densities, temperatures, or salinities come into contact within ..read more

MBL Senior Scientist Roger Hanlon talks Cephalopods with Mindy Todd on "The Point" on WCAI. Brainy… sophisticated….colorful….. strange: a few words to describe cephalopods, a family of marine animals that includes octopuses, squid, cuttlefish and nautilus. On The Point, we talk with MBL senior scientist and cephalopod researcher Roger Hanlon about these fascinating creatures. He shares insights about their complex behaviors, and the mysteries that still remain. Mindy Todd hosts. Listen here... Source: Cephalopods | WCAI ..read more

A team of over 70 scientists, including the late Jianwu (Jim) Tang, senior scientist in the MBL Ecosystems Center, used open-top chambers (OTCs) to experimentally simulate the effects of warming on 28 tundra sites around the world. The massive synthesis study was published in Nature in April. Anne Giblin, director of the Ecosystems Center, is quoted in this article by Sierra Club Magazine. New analysis shows that over time, this process could turn tundra ecosystems from carbon sinks to sources of emissions. Beneath snow and the low-lying vegetation that can survive in a tundra’s frigid tempera ..read more

This article interviews Alexander Schnell a former MBL Grass Fellow. Schnell worked extensively with MBL Senior Scientist Roger Hanlon, who was on her PhD committee and has co-published eight scientific papers with him on cuttlefish. Dr. Alex Schnell on the surprising things we're learning about these amazing creatures. With Earth Day fast approaching once again, it's time for another new documentary from National Geographic and Disney+: Secrets of the Octopus. It's the third in what has become a series, starting with the remarkable 2021 documentary Secrets of the Whales (narrated by Sigourney ..read more

Every month, research from MBL scientists and affiliates is published in academic journals across the globe. In April 2024, 11 new studies were published. MBL-affiliated authors are in bold. Our list of recent publications is updated weekly here. April 2024 Álvarez-Campos, P., García-Castro, H., Emili, E., Pérez-Posada, A., del Olmo, I., Peron, S., Salamanca-Díaz, D. A., Mason, V., Metzger, B., Bely, A. E., Kenny, N. J., Özpolat, B. D., & Solana, J. (2024). Annelid adult cell type diversity and their pluripotent cellular origins. Nature Communications. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-47401-6 ..read more

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Nipam Patel Nipam Patel, director of the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) and a professor at the University of Chicago, was elected to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences (NAS) this week in recognition of his distinguished and continuing achievements in original research. Election to the Academy is a widely accepted mark of excellence in science and is considered one of the highest honors that a scientist can receive. Patel will be formally inducted at the Academy’s Annual Meeting in 2025. Patel is a leading scholar in modern developmental and evolutionary biology with specific focus ..read more

B. Duygu Özpolat and her team have published a cell atlas for the regenerative water nymph worm Pristina in Nature Communications. Özpolat began this work when she was a Hibbitt Fellow at the MBL and continued it after her move to Washington University in St. Louis. The project's gene expression microscopy studies started at MBL, and co-first author Helena García-Castro visited MBL for two months on a Company of Biologists travel fund. An international team of scientists including B. Duygu Özpolat at Washington University in St. Louis has published the first single-cell atlas for Pristina ..read more

In the search for extraterrestrial life, we Earthlings naturally look for signs of water or the green, lush lifeforms that cover our planet. But the Universe is not just our mirror, and our imaginations must stretch way beyond the familiar. Last summer, a student in the MBL Microbial Diversity course was inspired to take up this challenge, leading to her new publication, “Purple is the New Green," in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters. “During the course, I encountered so much biodiversity that the astronomy community is still missing in their models to search for extra ..read more