Scientists have caught a once-in-a-billion-years evolutionary event in progress, as two lifeforms have merged into one organism that boasts abilities its peers would envy. Last time this happened (1.6 billion years ago), certain advanced cells absorbed a type of bacteria that could harvest energy from sunlight. These became organelles called chloroplasts, which gave sunlight-harvesting abilities, as well as a fetching green color, to a group of lifeforms you might have heard of – plants.

And now, scientists have discovered that it’s happening again. A species of algae called Braarudosphaera bigelowii was found to have engulfed a cyanobacterium that lets them do something that algae, and plants in general, can’t normally do – "fixing" nitrogen straight from the air, and combining it with other elements to create more useful compounds.

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[–] PrettyFlyForAFatGuy@feddit.uk 3 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Fun fact, one half of the invention of the Haber Bosch process Fritz Haber also invented chemical warfare.

He's partially responsible for saving perhaps billions of lives through the Haber Bosch process and killing millions through the use and proliferation of chemical weapons.

We did get this banger out of it though

[–] victorz@lemmy.world 1 points 7 months ago

So long as he's net positive, eh..? 🥹