{"686508":{"#nid":"686508","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Georgia Tech Professor Awarded John Templeton Foundation Grant ","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/biosciences.gatech.edu\/people\/will-ratcliff\u0022\u003EWill Ratcliff\u003C\/a\u003E, the John C. and Leslie C. Sutherland Professor in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/biosciences.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Biological Sciences\u003C\/a\u003E, has been awarded a grant from the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.templeton.org\/grants\/apply-for-grant?utm_source=google\u0026amp;utm_medium=PM\u0026amp;utm_campaign=news\u0026amp;utm_content=JTFbrandgooglead\u0026amp;gad_source=1\u0026amp;gad_campaignid=14262557961\u0026amp;gbraid=0AAAAAC5iXrVMIAy6glag6llkVFs1IQ9wZ\u0026amp;gclid=CjwKCAiAzrbIBhA3EiwAUBaUdSuzRg2WBxkAI7A28xHXPTmWfObKI-oojzU4AIwLjh1iIaelHHSoxhoCiFgQAvD_BwE\u0022\u003EJohn Templeton Foundation\u003C\/a\u003E. The philanthropic organization\u2019s awards are reserved for scientific research into awe-inspiring topics and will enable Ratcliff to continue groundbreaking research into the origins of multicellular life.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERatcliff\u2019s lab has pioneered one of the world\u2019s longest-running evolution experiments. \u0026nbsp;For more than a decade, the lab\u2019s snowflake yeast has completed tens of thousands of life cycles. This work has provided a unique lens for studying how single-celled organisms make the leap to multicellularity, gradually evolving from simple clumps of cells into organisms. It\u2019s among the first to demonstrate how single cells grow into the multicellular organisms that form the basis of all life, from fungi to fauna.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis grant is based on a conceptual breakthrough that emerged only after more than a decade of observing multicellular life evolve,\u201d Ratcliff said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe research is now at the stage when funding from organizations like Templeton is crucial. Ratcliff\u2019s grant focuses on the concept of \u201cagency,\u201d or how a cell determines its function.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe human body contains 39 trillion cells \u2014 most of which help us survive and reproduce \u2014 yet they themselves won\u2019t pass on their genetic material,\u201d Ratcliff said. \u201cFor example, skin cells are never going to make a new human.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cMulticellular organisms began as small groups where every cell contributed to reproduction. Over time, some cells shifted to supportive roles that didn\u2019t reproduce, instead helping specialized reproductive cells, like sperm and eggs, succeed.\u201d\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003EThis shift, in which most cells in an organism have given up the ability to reproduce, represents a fundamental shift biological agency.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt\u2019s a key step in the evolution of complex life, as it allows organisms to make things like muscles, neurons, and skin cells,\u201d Ratcliff said.\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003EBut how did it begin? The researchers hypothesize that this shift in agency can occur very early in evolution, as a physical side effect of creating large, tough bodies. As multicellular organisms grow physically larger, cells on the interior may effectively become \u201cstuck,\u201d unable to ever leave the group. Much like a nerve cell in the body, these cells will never form a new organism. Instead, they are incentivized to help the reproductive cells in the organism succeed.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe\u2019ve long thought that this type of specialization could only occur after a great deal of genetic modification,\u201d Ratcliff said. \u201cYet that\u2019s not what appears to be happening in snowflake yeast \u2014 it seemingly happens \u2018for free\u2019 as a side effect of simple cellular biophysics very early in the transition to multicellularity.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWith the funding, Ratcliff and his frequent collaborator, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.physics.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Physics\u003C\/a\u003E Associate Professor \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/research.gatech.edu\/people\/peter-yunker\u0022\u003EPeter Yunker\u003C\/a\u003E, will be able to test this hypothesis using the group\u2019s existing yeast.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022This award will enable us to address crucial questions about the evolution of multicellularity \u2014 and the role that physics plays in the process,\u201d Yunker said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETheir results could fundamentally reshape our understanding of evolution, showing how the simplest life forms can give rise to extraordinary complexity. With each yeast cell, the researchers are uncovering the building blocks of life itself.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;The grant will enable research into the origin of complex life.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":" The grant will enable research into the origin of complex life. "}],"uid":"34541","created_gmt":"2025-11-18 15:19:56","changed_gmt":"2025-11-18 17:42:20","author":"Tess Malone","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2025-11-18T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2025-11-18T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"673356":{"id":"673356","type":"image","title":"Evolved snowflake yeast","body":null,"created":"1710163102","gmt_created":"2024-03-11 13:18:22","changed":"1710163026","gmt_changed":"2024-03-11 13:17:06","alt":"Evolved snowflake yeast","file":{"fid":"256741","name":"Screen Shot 2024-03-11 at 6.13.42 AM.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/03\/11\/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-11%20at%206.13.42%20AM.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/03\/11\/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-11%20at%206.13.42%20AM.png","mime":"image\/png","size":6721034,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2024\/03\/11\/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-11%20at%206.13.42%20AM.png?itok=OzyHX8gY"}}},"media_ids":["673356"],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"},{"id":"187423","name":"go-bio"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ETess Malone, Senior Research Writer\/Editor\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003Etess.malone@gatech.edu\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}