Comment 2SP9 Re: the Verge

Story

Scientists raise air-breathing fish on land to test evolution

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the Verge (Score: 2, Informative)

by zafiro17@pipedot.org on 2014-09-17 12:25 (#2SGQ)

Just noticed the Verge covered this too, and very well. There are some great quotes from that article.

http://www.theverge.com/2014/8/27/6074855/this-is-what-happens-when-you-raise-fish-to-walk-on-land
As it turns out, growing up on land really does change how a fish walks.

"Fish raised on land walk with a more effective gait," Standen says. "They plant their legs closer to the body's midline, they lift their heads higher, and they slip less during that walking cycle." The fish raised on land were also generally more consistent in the way they walked than their aquatic counterparts. But their behavior wasn't the only thing that changed. For example, "the bones in the pectoral girdle - the bones that support the fins - changed their shape," she says. "And their clavicles became elongated." Most changes that occurred were ones that gave their heads and fins more room to move around.

"It's an important change, because if you think of a terrestrial lifestyle," Standen explains, "you actually need a neck on land because you're stuck on this plane, and you need to have more head motion that's independent from the body."

Re: the Verge (Score: 0)

by Anonymous Coward on 2014-09-21 03:41 (#2SP9)

I had a wtf moment when i discovered i was on a site entitled Christian Science Monitor, thanks for linking to somewhere a little more reputable, or at least less unsettling. Does christianity come up regularly around here, i imagine an article like this would have been crucified back on /.

Junk Status

Marked as [Not Junk] by bryan@pipedot.org on 2015-01-02 05:37