Browsing Tag 'Evolution'
This post contributed by Nadine Lymn, ESA Director of Public Affairs The roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) is a tiny laboratory animal that researchers have worked with for decades. As a hermaphrodite, C. elegans makes both sperm and eggs and can reproduce by self-fertilization. In contrast to humans, where hermaphrodites are rare, for C. elegans, [...]
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Marcelo Sánchez-Villagra from the University of Zurich and researchers have uncovered the evolutionary history of the mole’s extra “thumb.” As it turns out, this polydactyl animal evolved an elongated wrist bone to serve as a sort of extra finger, widening the paw for more effective tunneling. The researchers examined embryos of the Iberian mole (Talpa [...]
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If plants had a perspective, they would probably think of pollinators as more than just extra-friendly house guests. That is, plants would be more likely to view pollinators as the mutual friend who likes to set up blind dates. Bees might limit pollen to its use as a protein source for the hive, and birds [...]
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Inside the rounded fruit of a fig tree is a maze of flowers. That is, a fig is not actually a fruit; it is an inflorescence—a cluster of many flowers and seeds contained inside a bulbous stem. Because of this unusual arrangement, the seeds—technically the ovaries of the fig—require a specialized pollinator that is adapted [...]
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This post contributed by Monica Kanojia, Administrative Assistant/Governance for ESA While a vegetarian lifestyle is a choice made by omnivorous humans, the panda population may have been forced to convert to a vegetarian diet between 2 and 7 million years ago to ensure survival. The preference for bamboo is unusual for pandasbecause they are classified [...]
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