Environmental oxygen triggers loss of webbed digits

Free fingers have many obvious advantages on land, such as in locomotion and grasping, while webbed fingers are typical of aquatic or gliding animals. But both amphibians and amniotes—which include mammals, reptiles, and ...

Life in Antarctica's ice mirrors human disease

The cooling of the Southern Ocean surrounding Antarctica, which began approximately 35 million years ago and gave rise to its present icy state, has for decades been considered a classic example of climate change triggering ...

Spatial DNA organization forms first, then the rest

The fundamental organization of the DNA in active and inactive compartments arises immediately after fertilization of the oocyte, even before genes are activated. This was discovered by researchers from the Hubrecht Institute ...

How cytoplasm separates from yolk

The segregation of yolk from the surrounding cytoplasm in the very early fish embryo is a key process for the development of fish larva. To identify its underlying mechanisms, biologists at the Institute of Science and Technology ...

Developing cells do synchronized swimming inside the embryo

The very beginnings of life inside a tiny developing embryo are mesmerizing to watch. Each movement and biochemical reaction is executed with well-ordered precision about 95 percent of the time, leading to the development ...

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