yeast

In an interesting experiment, researchers sheathed living yeast cells in armor of silica. The cells survived, and emerged as unusual armored versions of themselves that could become building blocks for nanotech applications.

As any brewer will tell you, the yeast used to make beer tends to bunch up during fermentation. However, despite thousands of years of brewing and decades of genetic research on yeast, no one was able to explain why yeast stuck together. Now, not only has the gene behind the clumping been discovered, but that gene also offers an interesting look at how life may have become multicellular, and provides a new example of an important evolutionary theory.