The expanding Asgard archaea invoke novel insights into Tree of Life and eukaryogenesis

The division of organisms on the Tree of Life into either a three-domain(3D)tree or a two-domain(2D)tree has been disputed for a long time.Ever since the discovery of Archaea by Carl Woese in 1977 using 16S ribosomal RNA sequence as the evolutionary marker,there has been a great advance in our knowledge of not only the growing diversity of Archaea but also the evolutionary relationships between different lineages of living organisms.Here,we present this perspective to summarize the progress of archaeal diversity and changing notion of the Tree of Life.Meanwhile,we provide the latest progress in genomics/physiology-based discovery of Asgard archaeal lineages as the closest relative of Eukaryotes.Furthermore,we propose three major directions for future research on exploring the“next one”closest Eukaryote relative,deciphering the function of archaeal eukaryotic signature proteins and eukaryogenesis from both genomic and physiological aspects,and understanding the roles of horizontal gene transfer,viruses,and mobile elements in eukaryogenesis.

AmphibiaChina： an online database of Chinese Amphibians

AmphibiaChina, an open-access, web-based database, is designed to provide comprehensive and up-to-date information on Chinese amphibians. It offers an integrated module with six major sections. Compared to other known databases including AmphibiaWeb and Amphibian Species of the World, AmphibiaChina has the following new functions： （1） online species identification based on DNA barcode sequences; （2） comparisons and discussions of different major taxonomic systems; and （3） phylogenetic progress on Chinese amphibians. This database offers a window for the world to access available information of Chinese amphibians. AmphibiaChina with its Chinese version can be accessed at http：// www.amphibiachina.org.

The Labors of the Months and the Zodiac Signs in the Cathedral of Otranto： An Iconographical Interpretation of the Symbols of Labor and Time

In 1163, Archbishop Gionata, Abbot of the Monastery of San Nicola of Casole in Puglia （Apulia）, commissioned Pantaleone, a learned monk and artist from the monastery, to decorate the pavement of the cathedral of Otranto with mosaics. This Italian Romanesque cathedral was dedicated to Santa Maria Annunziata or Saint Mary of The Annunciation. In the interior, the floor design in the shape of a tree contains an elaborate biblical program. The encyclopedic narrative of the mosaic symbolically unveils the meaning of the Tree of Life. The ieonography of the pavement＇s program combines biblical and pagan narratives evolving from a natural realm into a heavenly realm. The natural realm begins at the church＇s entrance with the symbolism of the earth-the roots of a tree-expanding through the nave and transept via the tree＇s trunk and its branches, culminating in the apse, at the end of the church, with the foliage oftbe top of the tree. This natural realm meets with the heavenly realm in two ways： at the crossing of the church or at the sacrificial altar, and at the apse of the church. Before reaching the altar or holy area, between the natural realm and the heavenly realm, the zodiac signs with the labors of the months are depicted.

Factors Influencing the Patronage of Coconut Fruit Case Study： Cape Coast Metropolis Ghana

Majority （80%） of people worldwide may not be aware of the numerous invaluable benefits of＂the tree of life＂： the coconut palm especially the fruit. Some benefits include： its juice for weight loss, cure of hung-over, diarrhoea, balance of body＇s pH level, among others. None-the-less, its availability and continuity to support life is hindered by the Cape St. Paul disease. To buttress government＇s efforts, this paper seeks to find out whether people are aware of some of the benefits of the coconut palm and the disease that attacks it. The survey revealed that, although awareness level of respondents＇ on some facts about the coconut fruit was moderate （40%-69%）, majority （97%） of respondents consumed both the meat and juice. Respondents （70%） patronized coconut fruit weekly. Consumers＇ patronage of coconut fruit was influenced by three factors： health benefits, availability and packaging. The development of the CPS （coconut patronage scale） was a major contribution.

Hidden Map of North America in “Bacchus” by Leonardo da Vinci Grigol Keshelava

The object of this research is a“Bacchus”created in 1510-1515 by Leonardo da Vinci.By moving the detail of the painting,the map of North America is obtained,on which the present United States and Mexico are imprinted.The detail was drawn along the pale lines.The map we have shown in the painting is almost identical to the modern map of North America.The right part of the map shows a tree.In our opinion,Leonardo symbolically painted a tree of life,associated with the newly discovered land at that time.

The Fault Line in Chinese Reflective Thinking

Behind what is called ＂Needham＇s Grand Question＂ （why was China overshot by the West in science and technology？） lies a deeper question of how China came to lose the capacity of deeply reflective thought clearly present in the ancient Chinese philosophers. This is a loss felt by all Chinese as a psychological sense of hollowness, a loss of identity, made worse by the seeming inaccessibility of the ancient Chinese wisdom to the modern Chinese mind. It is clear that at some historical point China suffered an extreme psychological blow sufficient to traumatise it at the threshold of reflective thought, unable to look inwards any more. The paper identifies that point as the utter devastation wrought by Kublai Khan and the Mongols 750 years ago. What devastates reflective thought is wilfulness, the insistent focusing of all attention and energy on external, material things, and Kublai Khan was wilful in the extreme. What confirms this as the crippling point is that, in response to Kublai Khan＇s Mongol invasion the Chinese, over time, not only completely altered the geography of China itself, moving their capital to the North （Beijing）, but have ever since fought to establish as ＂China＂ all the territory over which Kublai Khan ruled. China is clearly not free of Kublai Khan＇s shadow. But even more precisely, in the process of doing this--and showing their own wilfulness--in building the Forbidden City in Beijing they built it in the shape of the Chinese metaphysical model of the universe, the Chinese version of the Tree of Life metaphysical glyph But it has an error in it. And the error is precisely that in where it places things, it makes what would have been the attributes of reflective thought subservient to wilfulness. The model itself thus shows the hollowness of the Chinese mind from that moment on. The outer form--the ＂appearance＂---of the ancient wisdom was still there. But the content--the ＂substance＂--of it was not. And with no reflective thought, true creativity disappears.

Achieving Sustainability

Although all the symptoms of lack-of-sustainability are physical, the cause is a mindset that needs to be changed. The mindset includes an addictive lock on wanting materialistic solutions to all problems, most of which are not materialistic, but are existential problems about meaningfulness in life. Meaningfulness is an inner understanding about life that is only achieved by insightful reflective thought. This kind of growth is enabled by the right kind of caring leadership that enables people to realise and properly establish their existential relationship with Nature.

The expanding Asgard archaea and their elusive relationships with Eukarya

The discovery of Asgard archaea and the exploration of their diversity over the last 6 years have deeply impacted the scientific community working on eukaryogenesis,rejuvenating an intense debate on the topology of the universal tree of life(uTol).Here,we discuss how this debate is impacted by two recent publications that expand the number of Asgard lineages and eukaryotic signature proteins(ESPs).We discuss some of the main difficulties that can impair the phylogenetic reconstructions of the uTol and suggest that the debate about its topology is not settled.We notably hypothesize the existence of horizontal gene transfers between ancestral Asgards and proto-eukaryotes that could result in the observed abnormal behaviors of some Asgard ESPs and universal marker proteins.This hypothesis is relevant regardless of the scenario considered regarding eukaryogenesis.It implies that the Asgards were already diversified before the last eukaryotic common ancestor and shared the same biotopes with proto-eukaryotes.We suggest that some Asgards might be still living in symbiosis today with modern Eukarya.