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 ...

Ciliates are minute, single-celled organisms with several nuclei, and are abundant in freshwater, the oceans and soil. The name “ciliate” comes from 'cilia', tiny hair-like structures, which cover ...

Natural assemblages of peritrichous ciliates that develop in the fouling film on glass slides and plastic Petri dishes in both summer and winter were examined in two ecosystems. Fouling in ...

This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American (I'm pretty sure every ...

Loxophyllum is a predatory protozoan. These single-celled organisms are ciliates, being covered in hair-like structures known as cilia. The cilia beat in synchronized waves, propelling the organism ...

Ciliates can do amazing things: Being so tiny, the water in which they live is like thick honey to these microorganisms. In spite of this, however, they are able to self-propel through water by the ...

Microscopic ciliates can increase the mobility of poisonous tar substances, PAHs, by up to 100-fold according to a new study. The results open new possibilities for cleaning soil that is contaminated ...

Focus: The systematics and diversity of free-living ciliates, particularly marine and brackish forms in costal waters We are focusing our research on the systematics and diversity of free-living ...

Ancient rock deposits, laid down between two massive ice ages, reveal the oldest known fossils for two types of single-celled creatures: Tube-shelled foraminifera and hairy, vase-shape ciliates. Both ...

A team of scientists say they’ve figured out the cause of a devastating sea urchin die-off that occurred last year along the waters of the Caribbean Islands and Florida. The algae-eating sea urchins ...