Diversity among the ancestors of such marine creatures as clams, sand dollars and lobsters showed only a modest rise beginning 144 million years ago with no clear trend afterwards, according to an international team of researchers.

Insulin-like growth factor (IGF) signaling that helps to regulate mammals’ growth, metabolism, reproduction and longevity is well documented. Now research published in the open access journal Journal of Biology describes the genetic identification of the first functional insulin-like growth factor binding protein (IGFBP) ortholog in invertebrates.

A hundred years since Russian microbiologist Elie Metschnikow first discovered the invertebrate immune system, scientists are only just beginning to understand its complexity. Presenting their findings at a recent European Science Foundation (ESF) conference, scientists showed that invertebrates have evolved elaborate ways to fight disease.