The evolution of metazoans from their unicellular ancestors was one of the most important events in the history of life. However, the cellular and genetic changes that ultimately led to the evolution of multicellularity are not known. In this study, we describe an aggregative multicellular stage in the protist Capsaspora owczarzaki, a close unicellular relative of metazoans. Remarkably, transit...

Stage theories propose that individuals pass through different stages on their way toward behavior change. The present study examines stage-specific prediction patterns of social-cognitive variables (risk perception, outcome expectancies, perceived self-efficacy, action planning and social support) regarding transitions between the three stages of the Health Action Process Approach (HAPA; prein...

From egg through adult, C. elegans has six life stages including an option for dauer formation and diapause at larval stage L3 in adverse environments. Somatic cells throughout the organism make consistent choices and advance in unison, suggesting a mechanism of coordinate regulation at these stage transitions. Earlier studies showed that daf-12, which encodes a nuclear receptor (W. Yeh, 1991, ...

Modern-day economic and socio-cultural developments require people to be ever more specialized and mobile in their educational and professional choices. This is particularly relevant for ‘emerging adults’, that is to say, those who find themselves at that stage of life when their scholastic or university education ends, and they begin to make choices regarding their professional working life. T...

Transcriptomes provide excellent foundational resources for mechanistic and evolutionary analyses of complex traits. We present a developmental transcriptome for the facultatively eusocial bee Megalopta genalis, which represents a potential transition point in the evolution of eusociality. A de novo transcriptome assembly of Megalopta genalis was generated using paired-end Illumina sequencing a...

The growth toward adulthood occurs mainly through one or several intermediate stages or larval forms. Driven by environmental and internal state cues, all animals undergo one or more transitions during their life, which are accompanied by changes in morphology, physiology, and behavior. Larval settlement in the annelid Platynereis dumerilii is a prime example of such a life-phase transition. In...