Experience never errs; it is only your judgments that err by promising themselves effects such as are not caused by your experiments.

– Leonardo da Vinci

Phylogenetics explores the evolutionary relationships among organisms, reconstructing the vast history of life. These research results are visualized as branching diagrams known as phylogenetic trees. Today, scientists construct these models by moving beyond purely morphological traits and incorporating massive suites of molecular data. The closer two branches reside, the tighter the evolutionary kinship between the organisms. One of the most captivating frontiers in evolutionary biology is the concept of LUCA – the Last Universal Common Ancestor of all modern cellular life – which allows us to glimpse the absolute foundation of the tree of life. The development of this idea represents an inspiring journey from Charles Darwin’s early hypotheses regarding common descent to cutting-edge contemporary genomic research.

Feeling entirely unique? Phylogenetics offers a gentle reminder: we are part of an exceptionally large and ancient family!

AI & PLANKTON

Researchers at the Irkutsk State University (ISU) Research Institute of Biology, in partnership with Yandex Cloud and Maritime AI, have engineered a neural network to analyze water samples collected from Lake Baikal. Trained on an extensive library of more than 80,000 images, this machine-learning algorithm can accurately identify up to 70 distinct species of endemic Baikal plankton.

SIGNS OF LIFE

Metabarcoding is a revolutionary methodology utilized to detect what is known as environmental DNA (eDNA) within water or sediment samples. A single sample can preserve the microscopic genetic fragments shed by a vast array of organisms. By cross-referencing these genetic sequences against global reference databases, scientists can comprehensively profile every resident inhabiting the studied water body – ranging from bacteria to marine mammals.

NON-INVASIVE DIAGNOSTICS

The SnotBot drone was conceived and developed in 2016 by Dr. Iain Kerr, CEO of the non-profit marine conservation organization Ocean Alliance. The drone collects droplets of the whale’s exhaled breath condensate inside Petri dishes without causing the animal any disturbance. From these samples, scientists study DNA, hormones, and the general condition of the animals.