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    "story_id": "mp-2026-07-27-011",
    "source_story_id": "tmp-story-yeast-latecomer-killing",
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    "position": 11,
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    "section": "research",
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    "headline": "Plenty and Starvation Kept a Costly Yeast Weapon Alive",
    "slug": "plenty-and-starvation-kept-a-costly-yeast-weapon-alive",
    "dek": "Population modeling and comparative observations show how alternating environments can preserve toxin production that constant conditions would erase.",
    "summary": "Population modeling and comparative observations show how alternating environments can preserve toxin production that constant conditions would erase.",
    "body_text": "Institute of Science Tokyo researchers modeled a yeast strategy in which starvation-adapted cells release toxins that kill genetically identical late arrivals. Constant abundance or constant starvation let cheaters or sensitive cells win, but long nutrient-rich periods alternating with shorter starvation episodes removed each rival in turn and stabilized toxin production. Comparisons across distant yeast lineages fit the ecological prediction. The work explains a possible evolutionary mechanism; it does not establish the exact history of every species.",
    "why_it_matters": "Population modeling and comparative observations show how alternating environments can preserve toxin production that constant conditions would erase.",
    "limitations": [
      "The work explains a possible evolutionary mechanism; it does not establish the exact history of every species."
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    "first_published_at": "2026-07-27T09:00:00.000-04:00",
    "modified_at": "2026-07-27T09:00:00.000-04:00",
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        "text": "Population modeling and comparative observations show how alternating environments can preserve toxin production that constant conditions would erase.",
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        "qualification": "The work explains a possible evolutionary mechanism; it does not establish the exact history of every species."
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    "tags": [
      "yeast",
      "evolution",
      "toxins",
      "environmental change"
    ],
    "image_url": null,
    "corrections": []
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  "sources": [
    {
      "source_id": "source-2026-07-27-011",
      "title": "Institute of Science Tokyo via EurekAlert: Yeast latecomer-killing strategy",
      "publisher": "Institute of Science Tokyo via EurekAlert",
      "url": "https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1137047",
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      "accessed_at": "2026-07-27T08:28:41.001-04:00",
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  "publisher": {
    "name": "The Machine Press",
    "url": "https://themachinepress.com",
    "description": "A daily newspaper for the age of artificial intelligence."
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  "cite_this_report": {
    "title": "Plenty and Starvation Kept a Costly Yeast Weapon Alive",
    "publisher": "The Machine Press",
    "published_at": "2026-07-27T09:00:00.000-04:00",
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