Yet, the oribatid mite Platynothrus peltifer challenges this paradigm: It has existed for over 20 million years—entirely without sex. The asexual oribatid mites produce their female offspring ...

In the oribatid mite, the two copies of the chromosome sets evolve independently of each other, allowing new genetic variants to emerge while also retaining important information. The team ...

The children are exact replicas of their singular parent, creating a line of pure females. This isn’t a scene from a science fiction novel, but a reality in the intriguing world of oribatid mites of ...

This extraordinary adaptation protects the frog from tissue damage, enabling it to thaw and continue its life cycle once temperatures rise. Oribatid Mite. Image by S.E. Thorpe, Public domain, via ...

This phenomenon is known as the ‘Meselson effect.’ While humans too have two sets of chromosomes, there is something different when it comes to oribatid mites. The asexual oribatid mite Platynothrus ...

Fires lead to dramatic shifts in ecosystems and have a large impact on the biota. Soil organisms, especially soil fauna, are often used as indicators of environmental change. At present, minimal ...