Research reveals new discoveries on a bug with bifocals
While study has long been conducted on vertebrates with sight-sensory systems involving a lens, retina and nervous system, new research reported by the University of Cincinnati and supported by the National Science Foundation is the first to examine how the complex eye system of an invertebrate - the Sunburst Diving Beetle - coordinates the development of its components. Despite the complexity of their eyes, including a bifocal lens, extremely rapid eye growth of the Sunburst Diving Beetle occurs during the transitions between larval stages. In addition, they temporarily go blind as the eye is quickly redeveloped. The findings by Shannon Werner, a recent University of Cincinnati master's degree graduate in the biological sciences, and Elke Buschbeck, a UC professor of biological sciences, is published in the November issue of Comparative Physiology A.