vertebrates

First complete developmental blueprint of vertebrate

harminka — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 12:14:00 -0500

Researchers at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) have generated a digital zebrafish embryo - the first complete developmental blueprint of a vertebrate. With a newly developed microscope scientists could for the first time track all cells for the first 24 hours in the life of a zebrafish.

Unheard of life history for a vertebrate

harminka — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 01:54:08 -0500

There is a newly discovered life history among the 28,300 species of known tetrapods, or four-legged animals with backbones. A chameleon from arid southwestern Madagascar spends up to three-quarters of its life in an egg. Even more unusual, life after hatching is a mere 4 to 5 months.

Mechanism contributing to appropriate formation of spine

harminka — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 07:25:37 -0500

The Stowers Institute's Pourquié Lab has shed light on the mechanism causing animals to develop the appropriate number of vertebrae.

Which came first, social dominance or big brains

harminka — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 09:04:54 -0500

There’s new evidence supporting the idea that bigger brains are better. A study of a tropical wasp suggests that the brainpower required to be dominant drives brain capacity.

Can moths or butterflies remember what they learned as caterpillars?

harminka — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 06:49:00 -0600

Butterflies and moths are well known for their striking metamorphosis from crawling caterpillars to winged adults. In light of this radical change, not just in body form, but also in lifestyle, diet and dependence on particular sensory cues, it would seem unlikely that learned associations or memories formed at the larval or caterpillar stage could be accessible to the adult moth or butterfly.

Colorful view for first land animals

harminka — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 08:17:56 -0500

When prehistoric fish made their first forays onto land, what did they see" According to a study published in the online open access journal, BMC Evolutionary Biology, it's likely that creatures venturing out of the depths viewed their new environment in full colour.

Why are some groups of animals so diverse?

harminka — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 10:00:02 -0500

A new study of finger-sized Australian lizards sheds light on one of the most striking yet largely unexplained patterns in nature: why is it that some groups of animals have evolved into hundreds, even thousands of species, while other groups include only a few?

The origin of brain lies in a worm

harminka — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 10:52:12 -0500

Researchers discover that the centralised nervous system of vertebrates is much older than expected

Essencial gene for cerebellum formation

harminka — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 12:43:56 -0600

Development without Death

harminka — Thu, 28 Dec 2006 12:05:36 -0600