Despite consisting only of one single cell, the microorganism Paramecium has an amazingly complex life cycle. It has a period of infancy and of old age, it learns, defends itself from prey, has sex, responds to different sensory cues - all things we can relate... click to read more

Our group together with an international team of scientists successfully recovered and analyzed ancient DNA from Egyptian mummies dating from approximately 1400 BC to 400 AD, establishing ancient Egyptian mummies as a reliable source for genetic material to study the ancient past. The study, published... click to read more

The origin and the evolution of today's diverse populations is a complex process to study and clarify. Nevertheless, the recovery of genetic material from old remains such as bones, the so-called ancient DNA (aDNA), adds a new important source of information. aDNA can provide information on... click to read more

DNA is the core-element of life as we know it. It can be imagined as a long helical double strand composed of sequences of information written with four chemical "letters" called nucleotides. Determinate sequences of letters delineate stretches of DNA called genes, which in turn... click to read more

It is well established knowledge that bacteria routinely exchange genes between unrelated species, creating an extensive network of information flow independent of sexual reproduction. By acquiring new genes, each being a blueprint for a single protein, the bacteria gain also the functions the proteins perform... click to read more