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Ville Friman

I am an evolutionary biologist interested in eco-evolutionary dynamics of species interactions in multi-trophic communities. I conduct my research by the way of experimental evolution in laboratory microcosms with various microbes including bacteria, bacteriophages and protists. I am specifically interested in understanding the interplay between environment and ecology in determining the evolution of species interactions and how rapid adaptation might affect the composition, stability and ecosystem functioning of complex microbial communities.

Studying adaptation in real time

Experimental evolution is study of evolution in real time. The method involves culturing replicate populations of study species, such as microbes, in defined laboratory environments for hundreds or thousands of generations. The experimenter will control the environmental conditions but does not directly impose the selection. Instead, selection results from the “struggle for existence” between individuals within each population, and thus, selection is natural.

I use various species of bacteria, protists and phages as my study species. These microorganisms have inherently large population sizes and short generation times that favour rapid evolution. Species can be further cryopreserved in suspended animation, which allows direct comparisons between evolved, ancestral and control populations. Many microorganisms have relatively simple and well-understood genomes, which allow both genetic manipulation and identification of the genetic targets for selection.

Current projects

Eco-evolutionary dynamics of predator-prey and host-parasite interactions in complex communities
Microbial community responses to environmental change
Cascading effects of antibiotics in multi-trophic microbial communities
Trophic interactions and the maintenance of within-species cooperation
Phage therapy in clinical and agricultural contexts

Why phages could be the new weapon in the war against antibiotic resistance

Apr 20, 2016 10:55 am UTC| Health

Every year an increasing number of health tourists are travelling to Eastern bloc countries to receive an old Soviet medical treatment, which could be the answer to the Wests crisis in antibiotics. Receiving life saving...

Economy

Trump Opens Tax-Exempt Dyed Diesel Access as Fuel Prices Surge

U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday expanding access to tax-exempt dyed diesel as soaring fuel prices and global oil supply disruptions put pressure on American consumers and businesses. Under...

Australia Consumer Confidence Plunges as RBA Rate Hike Hits Households

Australian consumer confidence fell sharply in October as households grew increasingly worried about rising living costs, higher interest rates, personal finances and the jobs outlook, according to data released Tuesday by...

Samsung, SK Hynix Shares Fall Ahead of Q3 Earnings

Shares of South Korean chip giants Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix declined on Tuesday as investors turned cautious ahead of their third-quarter earnings reports, despite broader strength across the global semiconductor...

Asian Currencies Steady as Dollar Holds Near 18-Month High

Asian currencies traded mostly flat on Tuesday as the U.S. dollar remained close to an 18-month high, supported by elevated Treasury yields and persistent inflation concerns. The euro stayed under pressure near a 17-month...

Asian Stocks Rise as Nasdaq Record Offsets Bond Yield Pressure

Asian stocks traded mostly higher on Tuesday, supported by a record close on the Nasdaq, although surging U.S. Treasury yields and elevated oil prices kept investors cautious. Wall Street provided a positive lead after the...

Politics

Trump Envoy Meets Sudan Army Chief in Egypt

A senior envoy for U.S. President Donald Trump attended an event in Egypt alongside Sudanese army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan as Washington continues efforts to find a political solution to Sudans devastating civil war....

France Student Protests Intensify Nationwide

France faced widespread high-school blockades and union-backed demonstrations on Tuesday as students stepped up pressure on President Emmanuel Macrons government over teacher shortages, deteriorating school buildings and...

Flavio Bolsonaro Surges as Family Scores Brazil Election Comeback

Brazils election delivered a dramatic political comeback for the Bolsonaro family, even though former President Jair Bolsonaro was not on the ballot. Bolsonaro, 71, is under house arrest while serving a 27-year sentence...

Trump Gaza Peace Plan Stalls as Israel Retains Control

US President Donald Trumps Gaza peace plan remains stalled a year after its launch, with Israel retaining control over roughly two-thirds of the enclave and continuing near-daily strikes despite an October 2025 ceasefire....

Trump Orders Firing Squad Execution for Fort Hood Gunman

President Donald Trump has approved the execution by firing squad of former U.S. Army Major Nidal Hasan, who was sentenced to death for killing 13 people in the 2009 Fort Hood shooting in Texas. Pentagon spokesperson Sean...

Science

Blue Origin New Glenn Explosion Could Delay Launch Operations Until 2028

Blue Origin is facing a significant setback after a dramatic explosion involving its New Glenn rocket severely damaged a launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida. According to NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, repairs to the...

Blue Origin New Glenn Rocket Explodes During Launch Pad Test, Delaying Space Ambitions

Blue Origin suffered a major setback after its uncrewed New Glenn rocket exploded during a launch pad test in Florida on Thursday, raising new challenges for Jeff Bezos space company as it competes with Elon Musks SpaceX...

SpaceX Delays Starship V3 Launch Ahead of Potential Record IPO

SpaceX on Thursday postponed the highly anticipated launch of its 12th Starship rocket test from Texas after technical issues interrupted the final countdown. The company now plans to attempt the Starship V3 launch again...

Trump Administration Releases New UFO Files and Apollo Mission Records

The U.S. Defense Department has released dozens of previously classified UFO-related files following an order from President Donald Trump, sparking renewed debate over unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) and government...

China vs. NASA: The New Moon Race and What's at Stake by 2030

The space race is back and this time, its a direct competition between the United States and China for dominance on the lunar surface. NASAs Artemis II mission recently made history when four astronauts flew farther into...

Technology

Zcash Prepares for NU7 Upgrade as Zebra Gets Key Security Fixes

The Zcash network is moving closer to its NU7 upgrade following a series of Zebra releases focused on security, performance and network stability. According to an engineering update from the official Zcash Foundation X...

OpenAI, Anthropic Back Mandatory AI Breach Reporting in Australia

OpenAI and Anthropic said they would support Australian laws requiring artificial intelligence companies to report data breaches caused by AI agents, as lawmakers consider tougher AI regulation following several security...

DeepSeek Seeks $12 Billion Funding Round Backed by Tencent, CATL

Chinese artificial intelligence powerhouse DeepSeek is preparing to raise at least 80 billion yuan ($12 billion) in a major funding round backed by Tencent and battery giant CATL, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday. DeepSeek...

Nvidia-Backed Reflection AI Launches Beam Open-Weight Model

Nvidia-backed startup Reflection AI has launched Beam, its first open-weight artificial intelligence model, as the U.S. company looks to challenge lower-cost Chinese AI models in coding and agentic tasks. Reflection AI...

Meta and Microsoft Cut Internal Claude AI Use

Meta Platforms and Microsoft are reducing their internal reliance on Anthropics Claude AI models as both technology giants encourage employees to adopt proprietary artificial intelligence tools, according to a report from...