Using the lamprey, researchers from Japan analyzed the photosensory mechanism of the pineal organ, also called the pineal gland, in non-mammalian vertebrates and discovered a novel mechanism of pineal color discrimination ...
Evolution
Sep 16, 2021
0
20
Despite long-standing interest, the cellular mechanisms driving the initiation of mammary gland development have remained elusive for decades, mostly due to technical limitations in studying dynamic cell behaviors in live ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jun 21, 2021
0
1
Early in human development, during the first trimester of gestation, a fetus may have XX or XY chromosomes that indicate its sex. Yet at this stage a mass of cells known as the bipotential gonad that ultimately develops into ...
Evolution
May 5, 2021
0
31
Humans have a uniquely high density of sweat glands embedded in their skin—10 times the density of chimpanzees and macaques. Now, researchers at Penn Medicine have discovered how this distinctive, hyper-cooling trait evolved ...
Evolution
Apr 14, 2021
5
117
A new study shows that the similarly smooth, nearly hairless skin of whales and hippopotamuses evolved independently. The work suggests that their last common ancestor was likely a land-dwelling mammal, uprooting current ...
Plants & Animals
Apr 1, 2021
0
294
We are not venomous, and neither are mice—but within our genomes lurks that potential, suggest scientists from the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST) and the Australian National University. ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 29, 2021
0
3225
When you think about what separates humans from chimpanzees and other apes, you might think of our big brains, or the fact that we get around on two legs rather than four. But we have another distinguishing feature: water ...
Evolution
Mar 5, 2021
19
7005
The pituitary gland is a pea-sized endocrine gland composed of two structurally and functionally separate parts known as anterior and posterior lobes. The pituitary gland's anterior lobe secretes six hormones essential to ...
Veterinary medicine
Feb 22, 2021
0
6
In the TV series, "How It's Made," viewers often discover that common objects like pencils or rubber bands are quite complicated to make. The show walks people through complex production processes that lie behind familiar ...
Cell & Microbiology
Nov 17, 2020
0
23
A group led by researchers at Butantan Institute in Brazil and supported by FAPESP has described for the first time the presence of venom glands in the mouth of an amphibian. The legless animal is a caecilian and lives underground. ...
Plants & Animals
Oct 1, 2020
0
5973
