Solving the Puzzle of Darwin‘s ‘Strange Animals‘
New research method claims to clear up the ancestry of two extinct mammal species.Charles Darwin called them perhaps the “strangest animal[s] ever discovered.” Now, using a new research method, scientists think they may have cleared up the ancestry of two extinct South American hooved mammals. These animals were the Macrauchenia (pictured above), which looked like a fat camel with a short elephantlike trunk, and the Toxodon, an animal which resembled a rhinoceros with a hippolike head. Scientists had previously thought that the animals were related to African elephants. After the new research, it is now thought they are more closely linked to horses, tapirs and rhinos. “This really is a beautiful paper that answers one of the most . . . Read All
How Lizards Regrow Their Tails
Scientists think the clues they have discovered could eventually help humans combat some medical problems.Scientists are closer to figuring out how a lizard can regrow a lost tail. They have located the genes responsible for tail regeneration. The researchers looked at around 23,000 genes found in the tails of green anole lizards. At least 326 of these genes at various spots on the tails were “turned on” during regeneration. This discovery suggests the lizard DNA has a genetic “recipe” for tail regeneration.Co-author Dr. Kenro Kusumi, a professor at Arizona State U., was amazed. “We were completely surprised, We were expecting all of the regeneration to be focused at the tip of the growing tail. Instead, the cells are . . . Read All