Biodegradation of benzene is most challenging among the plethora of hydrocarbons due to its high chemical stability. While aerobic bacteria employ O 2 ‐dependent oxygenases to overcome the high energy barrier, anaerobic benzene degradation remains enigmatic. Here we achieve an anaerobic enrichment, which is clonal with respect to the benzene‐degrading, sulphate‐reducing, marine bacterium BzS1, from a previously reported enrich...

Purpose Overcoming the limitations of synthetic vascular grafts in the development of biocompatible and regenerative vessels remains a long-term objective in tissue engineering. In this study, we engineered large-diameter fibrin-based vascular grafts with a target inner diameter of 21 mm replicating all three layers of the native human vessel wall in vitro. Methods The Tunica media was reconstructed using a compressed high-den...

Ecosystem functions and services are severely threatened by unprecedented global loss in biodiversity. To counteract these trends, it is essential to develop systems to monitor changes in biodiversity for planning, evaluating, and implementing conservation and mitigation actions. However, the implementation of monitoring systems suffers from a trade‐off between grain (i.e., the level of detail), extent (i.e., the number of stu...

Eunicida is a taxon of marine annelids currently comprising the taxa Eunicidae, Onuphidae, Dorvilleidae, Oenonidae, Lumbrineridae, Histriobdellidae and Hartmaniella. Most representatives are highly mobile hunters sharing the presence of a sophisticated nervous system but differ in the number and shape of prostomial sensory organs (0–3 antennae; 0 or 2 palps; 0, 2 or 4 (+2) buccal lips; 0, 2 or 4 eyes; single-grooved or paired...

Chaetopteridae — the parchment worms — comprise a group of early branching annelids with a scarcely investigated neuroanatomy and neurogenesis. Due to their phylogenetic position in the annelid tree, studying them is nevertheless inevitable for our understanding of character evolution in segmented worms. Therefore, we investigated several adult und larval chaetopterids using a broad set of morphological methods — including ser...

Summary Large quantities of organic matter are continuously deposited, and (a)biotic gradients intersect in the soil–rhizosphere, where biodegradation contributes to the global cycles of elements. The betaproteobacterial genus Aromatoleum comprises cosmopolitan, facultative denitrifying degradation specialists. Aromatoleum aromaticum . pCyN1 stands out for anaerobically decomposing plant‐derived monoterpenes in addition to mon...

Background LSD and psilocybin are increasingly used in phase I trials and evaluated as therapeutic agents for mental disorders. The phenomenon of reoccurring drug-like experiences after the acute substance effects have worn off was described for both substances and especially attributed to LSD. According to the DSM-V, the persisting and distressing manifestation of these experiences is called hallucinogen-persisting perception...

Unfortunately, the captions of figures were incorrectly published in original publication. The corrected version updated here.

Mushroom bodies are known from annelids and arthropods and were formerly assumed to argue for a close relationship of these two taxa. Since molecular phylogenies univocally show that both taxa belong to two different clades in the bilaterian tree, similarity must either result from convergent evolution or from transformation of an ancestral mushroom body. Any morphological differences in the ultrastructure and composition of m...

Numerous charcoal accumulations discovered in the submerged Chan Hol cave near Tulum, Quintana Roo, Mexico, have been 14 C‐dated revealing ages between 8110 ± 28 14 C a BP (9122–8999 cal a BP) and 7177 ± 27 14 C a BP (8027–7951 cal a BP). These charcoal concentrations, interpreted here as ancient illumination sites, provide strong evidence that the Chan Hol cave was dry and accessible during that time interval. Humans used the...

Lineus ruber (Müller, ) and Lineus viridis (Müller, ) are among the longest known and most abundant intertidal nemertean species found on both sides of the North Atlantic. Due to easy maintenance in captivity, both species have been well studied concerning morphology, reproduction, development and ecology. Originally described as two separate species in the 18th century, they were subsequently synonymised and considered colour...