"Discovery of Nitrogen-Fixing Organelles in Algae Shows Evolution in Action"
Originally Published 1 year ago — by Ars Technica
Researchers have discovered a potential new organelle, termed a nitroplast, which is evolving to fix nitrogen from the atmosphere. This process, known as endosymbiosis, is rare and has only been observed in a few cases, such as with mitochondria and chloroplasts. Nitrogen is essential for life, and the difficulty in obtaining it makes this discovery significant in understanding the evolution of complex cells and their specialized functions.