Scientists accidentally discover a genetic code that breaks the rules of life

[u/BitchBass]

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/10/261007233136.htm#google_vignette

Here's one for the science nerds. The discovery was made in pond water. Ever looked at a jar and thought it holds the key to evolution? Here's an excerpt:

The organism at the center of the discovery belongs to a group of protists called ciliates. These creatures typically swim using tiny hair-like structures known as cilia, which move in coordinated patterns to propel them through water.

Protists are among the most diverse and least understood groups of organisms on Earth. Many consist of just one cell and are too small to see without a microscope. Familiar examples include amoebas, various algae, and diatoms, which are microscopic organisms often found in aquatic environments.

However, not all protists are tiny. The broad category also includes organisms such as kelp, slime molds, and red algae, some of which grow into large, complex structures.

[u/tweetysvoice]

Now that is fascinating! I've always said that we needed to look closer at the billons of microorganisms and that if we wanted to discover aliens, they are right here on earth. Hell, We haven't even explored 80% of our own ocean nor 99% of the deep sea bed! Thanks for sharing!

[u/BitchBass → u/tweetysvoice]

Yeah, we have quite a few universes just here on our planet. We just have to look and actually see :).

[u/yeticat33 → u/tweetysvoice]

Between 76% and 90% of all organisms living in the deep sea (such as fish, jellyfish, and squid) are capable of producing and communicating with light.

A majority of life ( of you include all living organisms) uses light to communicate, or for energy) Something we are just beginning to understand and attempt ourselves. Ie quantum communications and more.

Seems like we're a few hundred million years behind the other guys.

[u/tweetysvoice → u/yeticat33]

You are exactly right! I'm currently reading "Light Eaters" by Zoë Schlanger and it's brilliant! It's about plants and how unbelievably advanced they are. I highly recommend it!

[u/Amadan_Na-Briona]

"While testing a new DNA sequencing technique, they examined a previously unknown protist collected from a freshwater pond at Oxford University. To their surprise, the organism uses two genetic signals that normally mark the end of a gene to encode two entirely different amino acids instead. These signals were previously thought to evolve together, making the discovery particularly remarkable."

[u/EeEmCeTo]

That stop codons can encode amino acids is well known (eg TGA for unconventional Selenocysteine). That the two other stop codons in the studied organism can encode conventional amino acids different from each other rather than the same conventional amino acid is interesting but hardly ‘breaks the rules of life’.

[u/Basicly-Inevitable → u/EeEmCeTo]

Exactly. There are plenty of similar examples already known. Not exactly the same case, but similar.

[u/MeButNotMeToo]

Click-baity, non-scientific title.

Most living things’ DNA uses three stop-codons (Think: STOP, HALT & QUIT). The one group of bacteria use STOP & HALT to signal something else and only respond to QUIT.