On the Origin of Animals

Think of an animal – any animal you’d like. Unless you’re a big fan of sponges or jelleyfish, or a protistologist perhaps, you likely thought of an animal that belongs to the Bilateria. This group includes all animals that show bilateral symmetry, so every single insect, vertebrate and mollusk belongs to this group. Like in [...]

Immunology for the Spineless

Besides being a delicacy in Japan and various other parts of the world, sea urchins have a longstanding career as a model organism in biology. The first description of these spiny, spineless creatures can be found in Aristotle’s History of Animals, dating from the 4th century BC 1. From the 1800s onward, the sea urchin [...]