Draft genomes generated using more affordable second-generation sequencing technologies could be assembled for a larger ...

Paired appendages—the pectoral and pelvic fins of fishes and the forelimbs and hindlimbs of tetrapods—were a major innovation ...

Learn how increased protein diversity in signaling genes may have helped drive the shift from invertebrates to vertebrates, reshaping how animals with a spine evolved. From frogs and fish to birds and ...

Assumptions that may seem self-evident are not always accurate when it comes to the evolution of vertebrate brains. Researchers at the University of Bayreuth have now demonstrated this by examining ...

As our species (Homo sapiens) evolved and spread across the globe, they were contemporary with several other hominins. These include the best-known of our evolutionary cousins, the Neanderthals, but ...

In DNA, retrotransposons can move around and insert themselves into other parts of genomes with a kind of copy and paste mechanism. Most have lost this ability in humans, but they still make up a ...

Scientists have investigated lamprey embryos using cutting-edge microscopic techniques to reveal interesting insights about vertebrate head evolution, clarifying an unresolved mystery in basic science ...

Invertebrate research bias in ecology is measurable and worsening: a new audit of 1.38 million papers across 612 journals by UNSW researchers finds vertebrate studies attract 43% more online attention ...

A new Nature study using sturgeon backbones as material analogues shows that the first land vertebrates had far stiffer, less ...

This article predates the current owners of Science Blog. It has not been reviewed under the current editorial process and is kept as part of the archive. One of just two vertebrates without a jaw, ...

Researchers report that ancient viruses may be to thank for myelin -- and, by extension, our large, complex brains. The team found that a retrovirus-derived genetic element or 'retrotransposon' is ...