In an $80 Motel Room, a Discovery to Shed Light on the Origins of Life

Paper from last fall https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jeu.70040

They've known about the Paulinella genus for several decades, but they're always glad to discover a new species. This genus acquired a photosynthetic symbiont "only" 100 million years ago, and it's only partway through the process of losing its genes. It's a snapshot of the evolutionary process.

TBH, this has almost nothing to do with the origins of life.

Big discussion https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49866951 (284 points | 1 day ago | 111 comments)

Gift link: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/26/science/motel-science-dis...