The human genome contains ca. 20,000 protein coding genes and up to 150 of them are
validated or are suspected to be imprinted. The process of imprinting itself was discovered …

Microbes are found virtually everywhere on Earth, from the ocean floor and deep mines to
hot springs, even on our skin and in our gut. They are essential to life on our planet as the …

Seas and oceans cover more than 70% of the Earth's surface. With the average depth of
approximately 3.2 km, the total volume of marine ecosystems makes up 98% of the total …

Halting the fast decrease of global biodiversity has become the major challenge facing
conservation biologists today. Populations of numerous species are suffering significant …

Organismal aging, or senescence, can be defined as a progressive, irreversible loss of
function that results in declines in fertility and survival (Holmes and Martin 2009). This …

Due to their sessile lifestyle, plants cannot choose their neighbours and plant individuals are
strongly influenced by the surrounding vegetation (Turkington & Harper 1979; Aarssen & …

Animals may greatly increase their fitness if they are well adapted to solve different
interspecific interactions–most notably interactions with predators and parasites, as survival …

The response of species and populations to external variables can be either linear or non-
linear. While linear systems behave additively, non-linear systems are non-additive (Fogarty …

Fungi play important roles in forest ecosystems as mutualists, saprotrophs and pathogens.
Fungal communities are drivers of soil organic matter decomposition and nutrient cycling …

Bacteria have evolved to withstand even the harshest and seemingly unwelcoming
environmental conditions on Earth. For inhabiting different environments and ecological …