May 2021

Anthocerotibacter panamensis (Photo courtesy Fay-Wei Li. All rights reserved)

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An article published in the journal “Current Biology” reports the discovery of a cyanobacterium that was named Anthocerotibacter panamensis. A team of researchers led by Fay-Wei Li of the Boyce Thompson Institute examined this bacterium discovered on a tropical plant in Panama and found that it has very rare characteristics that make it related to the rarest group of cyanobacteria, Gloeobacteria, which diverged from the most common group, Phycobacteria, about 2 billion years ago. The new species has some characteristics in common with both groups, which offers new insights into these oxygen-producing photosynthetic bacteria.

Fleet of Knives by Gareth L. Powell (Italian edition)

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The novel “Fleet of Knives” by Gareth L. Powell was published for the first time in 2019. It’s the second book in the Embers of War series and follows “Embers of War”.

The starship Lucy’s Ghost is traveling in the higher dimensions when she’s suddenly brought back to normal space. As the crew enters a long-abandoned alien starship, a distress call reaches the Trouble Dog, who is tasked with the rescue.

Ona Sudak was sentenced to death, the only scapegoat for crimes committed by her superiors too. Just before her execution, she’s set free and is offered command of the Marble Armada, which needs a living being as a leader. Her order is to prevent a new war from breaking out, whatever the cost.

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The novella “Binti: The Night Masquerade” by Nnedi Okorafor was published for the first time in 2018. It’s the third work in the Binti series and follows “Binti: Home”.

The alarming news she received, brings Binti back to her village in hopes that her family is well. The clash between the Khoush and the Medusae risks leading to open warfare with the Himba village caught between two fires. Binti appeals to her village elders to try to prevent a tragedy from happening.

Lifeboat by James White (Italian edition)

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The novel “Lifeboat” by James White was published for the first time in 1972.

Doctor Mercer is Eurydice’s new ship doctor and his first voyage looks boring because the ship’s safety is absolute. The only problems seem to be in establishing a relationship with the passengers and even more so with the officers, who consider him a glorified steward.

On the route to Ganymede, a problem is detected in one of the nuclear reactors that power the Eurydice. The captain is injured during an intervention on the reactor, which at that point becomes impossible to shut down. As a result, the order is given to abandon ship, and Mercer finds himself trying to help the passengers from afar after they scatter among the lifeboats.

Bicellum brasieri fossils

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An article published in the journal “Current Biology” reports the discovery of an organism dating back to about a billion years ago that lived in present-day Scotland and showed a cell differentiation typical of multicellular organisms. A team of researchers discovered microfossils in the Diagbaig Formation and named this species Bicellum brasieri. The examination led to the conclusion that it could be an organism of the Holozoa group, which includes animals and their closest single-celled relatives. If confirmed, this is the discovery of the oldest known multicellular organism, perhaps even the oldest that ever existed, and could be a new link in the evolutionary history that led to the emergence of animals.