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Ancient Lamprey DNA Decoded

By Guest PostMarch 6, 2013Environment, Natureadaptive immune system, ancient lamprey dna, backbones, brain, bygone eras, cambrian period, canadian government, chu yin yeh, chung davidson, data, decode, evolution, fossil records, great lakes, invasive species, jeramiah smith, kaben nanlohy, michigan state university, modern era, modern humans, multicelled creatures, nature genetics, nervous system, pathways, prehistoric species, salmon, scot libants, sea lamprey genome, single celled organisms, spinal cords, spine, titus brown, trout, US, vertebrates, weiming li, yu wen

When it comes to evolution, humans can learn a thing or two from primeval sea lampreys.

In the current issue of Nature Genetics, a team of scientists has presented an assembly of the sea lamprey genome – the first time the entire sequence has been decoded. The data is compelling as the sea lamprey is one of the few ancient, jawless species that has survived through the modern era.

The paper not only sheds light on how the venerable invasive species adapted and thrived, but it also provides many insights into the evolution of all vertebrates, species with backbones and spinal cords, which includes humans, said Weiming Li, Michigan State University fisheries and wildlife professor, who organized and coordinated the team. (more…)

Fossil Reveals Oldest Evidence of Live Birth in Reptiles

By Guest PostJuly 22, 2011Scienceaquatic groups, Beijing, blood supply to the embryos, chinese academy of sciences, early cretaceous period, eggs, embryos of modern lizards, fossil, fossil records, invertebrates, jehol biota, jehol group, lizards, mammals, marine ichthyosaurs, north eastern china, offspring, physiological adaptations, plants, rocks, snakes, squamate reptiles, susan evans, terrestrial reptiles, university college london, yabeinosaurus

*A fossil from north-eastern China has revealed that terrestrial reptiles were giving birth to live young at least as early as 120 million years ago.*

The newly discovered fossil of a pregnant lizard proves that some squamate reptiles (lizards and snakes) were giving birth to live young, rather than laying eggs, in the Early Cretaceous period – much earlier than previously thought. The fossil shows a pregnant female filled with the tiny skeletons of more than 15 baby lizards at a stage of development similar to that of late embryos of modern lizards. The mother lizard, which is 30 centimetres long (excluding her tail), probably died only a few days before giving birth.

The discovery is described in the journal Naturwissenschaften by scientists from UCL (University College London) and the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing. (more…)

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Ancient Lamprey DNA Decoded

Fossil Reveals Oldest Evidence of Live Birth in Reptiles