Spinal cord findings could help explain origins of limb control
Thursday, January 9, 2014 - 15:30
in Biology & Nature
Researchers have found that the spinal cord circuits that produce body bending in swimming fish are more complicated than previously thought. In a study of zebrafish, they report that differential control of an animal's musculature -- the basic template for controlling more complex limbs, such as in humans -- is already in place in the spinal networks of simple fish. The data could help clarify how vertebrates made the transition from water to land.