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E. coli caught in the act of evolving

Long-term lab experiment traces a trait's reappearance

By Tina Hesman Saey

- More than 2 years ago

Big leaps in evolution are the products of tiny genetic changes accumulated over thousands of generations, a new study shows.

DIET BREAKTHROUGH A flask of bacteria in an experiment at Michigan State University in East Lansing turned cloudy when the E. coli within evolved the ability to eat a chemical called citrate.