Dr. Michael Stanhope from Cornell University has discovered that great white sharks actually share more proteins involved in metabolism and biochemistry in common with humans than zebrafish, a common fish model used in biomedical research. They made this discovery by sequencing the transcriptome of a heart isolated from a great white shark. I find it fascinating that sharks have more proteins in common with mammals than with bony fish, even though sharks and bony fish are not very closely related.
Source:
Cornell University Press
- Log in to post comments
More like this
Photo of zebrafish housed at a research institute. By Karol Głąb CC BY-SA 3.0. via Wikimedia Commons
Who would have thought tiny fish could lead to big advances in medicine? Zebrafish (Danio rerio) and mammals have similar anatomy and physiology of the brain, eyes, gut, and cardiovascular…
The paddlefish is a surreal giant, with a spatula-shaped nose that some scientists believe it uses to sense the electric fields of its prey, which it sucks up like a whale. You might not think of it as an animal that has much to offer in our quest to understand ourselves. But in fact, underneath…
You're looking at the face of a new species of fish and judging by the two fearsome fangs, you'll probably understand how it got its scientific name - Danionella dracula. The teeth do look terrifying but fortunately, their owner is a tiny animal just 15 millimetres long. Ralf Britz from London's…
Picture of a komodo dragon by CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Researchers studying komodo dragons (Varanus komodoensis) at George Mason University discovered 48 previously unknown peptides in their blood that might have antimicrobial properties. Their findings were published in the Journal…
Alright all you evolutionary biologists, I expect to see you all replace your zebrafish tanks for shark tanks!
someone is gonna use this to try to discredit evolution again
anyway, just heart transcriptome? what if it was different in other organs? we need more sharks to sample