Giant, deep-sea roly-polies steal a gene to endure starvation

In the deep ocean, where food is scarce, giant isopods—oversized cousins of pill bugs—have evolved an extraordinary survival strategy. They can go without eating for up to five years. According to Science News, a gene these creatures acquired from bacteria may hold the key to their starvation tolerance. The genetic borrowing demonstrates how life in the ocean's harshest environments drives organisms to adopt novel survival mechanisms.

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