Research on the unicellular organism Stentor suggests that physical forces, specifically cooperative feeding dynamics, may have played a crucial role in the early evolution of multicellular life. These organisms form temporary colonies to enhance feeding efficiency but revert to solitary existence when resources are scarce, representing a stage before permanent multicellularity.
Researchers led by Nigel Goldenfeld and Björn Hof offer new insights into the transition from laminar to turbulent water flow, solving a 150-year-old mystery. The interdisciplinary team applied statistical mechanics to reveal that the phenomenon behaves like directed percolation.
