Conjugation (or mating) of ciliates is a unique phenomenon among living beings. They have sex not for reproduction or pleasure — they seek to increase genetic variation. Scientists from St Petersburg ...

Over a single day, in the placid waters of a single pond, a million virus particles might enter a single-celled organism known for the minuscule hairs, or cilia, that propel it through those waters.

Ciliates represent a remarkably diverse group of unicellular eukaryotes that possess a dual nuclear organisation—a germline micronucleus and a somatic macronucleus—that underpins their extraordinary ...

Predator and prey maintain a close relationship to each other: if one evolves, the other must keep pace. Such coevolution and its accompanying selection pressure leads to mutual adaptation of the two ...

Researchers have found that microscopic ciliates can eat huge numbers of infectious chloroviruses that share their aquatic habitat. The team's lab experiments have also shown that a virus-only diet, ...