It may be a bias left over from the long time I've spent studying it, but the development of the vertebrate spinal column has always struck me as elegant. Two signaling centers on the top and bottom ...

According to the data considered by its authors—a team from the University of Sussex (UK) and Lund University ...

Researchers recently discovered that the sea lamprey, a modern representative of ancient jawless vertebrates, fights invading pathogens by generating up to 100 trillion unique receptors. These ...

Scientists have revealed new details about ancient fish more than 400 million years old, which became the ancestors of ...

'Junk DNA' could hold the secret of the evolutionary origin of complex animals, according to new research. Vertebrates - animals such as humans that possess a backbone - are the most anatomically and ...

Researchers at the University of Arizona say there may be at least twice as many vertebrate species as previously recognized. The findings suggest that global vertebrate biodiversity has been ...

A stunningly preserved, soft-bodied fish that is more than 500 million years old could be the ancestor of almost all living vertebrates. The fossilized fish, called Metaspriggina, sports ...

In the limestone ranges of Western Australia’s Kimberley region, near the town of Fitzroy Crossing, you’ll find one of the world’s best-preserved ancient reef complexes. Here lie the remnants of ...

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