AUSTIN, Texas — New research demonstrates that the six electric fish lineages, all of which evolved independently, used essentially the same genes and developmental and cellular pathways to make an electricity-generating organ for defense, predation, navigation and communication. (more…)
Fin’s emergence in many species challenges assumption that it’s a useless remnant
Adipose fins therefore represent a prime example of convergent evolution and offer a new model for exploring the evolution of vertebrate limbs and appendages, report University of Chicago scientists in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B on March 5. (more…)
COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Why does a mouse’s heart beat about the same number of times in its lifetime as an elephant’s, although the mouse lives about a year, while an elephant sees 70 winters come and go? Why do small plants and animals mature faster than large ones? Why has nature chosen such radically different forms as the loose-limbed beauty of a flowering tree and the fearful symmetry of a tiger? (more…)
