The recent Invertebrate Wars reminded me of spectacular, but often ignored, group of gastropods. The parasites! This is a group that I have totally geeked out on in the past. In my previous work I ...

Cnidarians lack true mesoderm, in the sense of a third germ layer that arises as a direct result of gastrulation. However, at the molecular level, muscle development in the medusa of the hydrozoan ...

Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. One major division of the kingdom Animalia is Cnidarians (animals built around a central point) and bilaterians (animals with ...

Decades later, Anna Klompen came across this quote, which sparked her interest in marine biology. Eschewing the charismatic megafauna of the ocean, Klompen instead turned to the poorly understood ...

The cnidocytes -- or stinging cells -- that are characteristic of sea anemones, hydrae, corals and jellyfish, and make us careful of our feet while wading in the ocean, are also an excellent model for ...

This brainless animal uses a molecular trick once tied to bilaterian body plans.