Researchers reveal #evolutionary origins of #appetite by studying simple #nervous_system of #Hydra.
https://phys.org/news/2024-05-reveal-evolutionary-appetite-simple-nervous.html
Over the course of evolution, living organisms have gradually developed more complex nervous systems in order to coordinate increasingly complex sensory, motor and cognitive functions and to control the associated behavior.
Study suggests #brain #regulatory program predates central #nervous_system #evolution.
#cnidarians #mRNA #transcriptomics
https://phys.org/news/2023-11-brain-regulatory-predates-central-nervous.html
New research from the Layden Lab at Lehigh has demonstrated that the gene mechanisms at work during neurogenesis in the brain actually predate the evolutionary development of the central nervous system. In other words, to build our brains, nature is borrowing the blueprints from much simpler creatures that predate us and other animals on the evolutionary timeline.
Study pinpoints #cold_adaptations in #nervous_system of #Antarctic #octopus.
#enzymes #sodium_potassium_pump #L314V
https://phys.org/news/2023-10-cold-nervous-antarctic-octopus.html
Laden with dissolved salt, Antarctic waters can hover just above freezing and even dip below it. Temperatures this low would likely kill the animals that prosper in warmer waters further north. Yet, some creatures have found ways to live in this inhospitable cold.
CellBioNews