Opossums

Treatment of Premature Babies, Opossums Could Help

Reserarchers have discovered striking similarities between the immune systems of humans and opossums, the famous Australian marsupial . It could also lead to breakthroughs in the understanding and treatment of facial tumours afflicting the Tasmanian Devils, carnivorous marsupials now found onl...

Appendix isn't useless at all: It's a safe house for bacteria

... study because direct examination the appendixs function would be difficult. Other than humans, the only mammals known to have appendices are rabbits, opossums and wombats, and their appendices are markedly different than the human appendix. Parkers overall research into the existence and function of biof...

Opossums in Biological News

Climate change driving Michigan mammals north

...that will require a lot of detailed, focused ecological research." In the study, Myers and coworkers analyzed distribution and abundance records of opossums and eight species of small forest rodents. In addition to data collected by live-trapping animals over the past 30 years, the researchers relied heavi...

Scientists find 'redesigned hammer' that forged evolution of pregnancy in mammals

... present in all known placental mammals from elephants, the most primitive lineage with a placenta, to humans but does not exist in marsupials, like opossums or wallabies, where there is a brief and rudimentary pregnancy followed by development of the offspring outside the mother, or in egg-laying mammals l...

Researchers publish first marsupial genome sequence

...f the human genome. It sheds light on the genetic differences between placental mammals, such as humans, mice and dogs, and marsupial mammals, such as opossums and kangaroos. "Marsupials are the closest living relatives of placental mammals. Because of this relationship, the opossum genome offers a uniq...