CSHL scientists are part of consortium that sequences platypus genome
...age is the fact that males of the species are equipped with spikes on their hind legs through which they can deliver venom. The consortium found that reptile and platypus venom proteins have been co-opted from the same gene families. The scientists also deduced from genomic data that the platypus, despite b...Pet Turtles Linked to Rise in Salmonella Infections
...tions from pet turtles. "Only 20 percent of these cases [in the report] said they were aware there was a connection between Salmonella infection and reptile exposure," she said. Up to 90 percent of turtles carry Salmonella , Harris said. "This is a very serious infection, especially for small children,...More Lizards, Including Pets, Found Venomous
... green iguana, but their toxin secreting glands are smaller than those of snakes. The study effectively doubles the number of potentially venomous reptile species to 4,600 from 2,300. Snake toxins are widely used in medicines to treat epilepsy, haemophilia, high blood pressure and thrombosis. It is s...Scientists found ancient Human Germ Killer
...urring germ fighters, known as ``defensins,'' are believed to have evolved tens of millions of years ago, Cole said, before birds separated from their reptile ancestors. They inhibit not only viruses but bacterial diseases as well. Although human beings have a variety of defensins, the fact that HIV is almo...Ancient mother spawns new insight on reptile reproduction
A 75-million-year-old fossil of a pregnant turtle and a nest of fossilized eggs that were discovered in the badlands of southeastern Alberta by scientists and staff from the University of Calgary and the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology are yielding new ideas on the evolution of egg-laying an...Ancient reptile rises from Alberta oil sands
One of the oldest and most complete plesiosaur fossils recovered in North America, and the oldest yet discovered from the Cretaceous Period, represents a new genus of the prehistoric aquatic predator according to University of Calgary palaeontologists who have formally described the creature after...International team announces discovery of massive Jurassic marine reptile
FAIRBANKS, Alaska - University of Alaska Museum of the North earth sciences curator Patrick Druckenmiller spent several weeks last summer working with a Norwegian research team to excavate a large pliosaur specimen in the remote Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard. At the time, they knew the Jurassi...CT scan reveals ancient long-necked gliding reptile
Close up CT scan, composite image of fossil gliding reptile Mecistrotrachelos apeoros. Curved foot and ribs are clearly visible The fossilized bones of a previously unknown, 220 million-year-old long-necked, gliding reptile may remain forever embedded in stone, but thanks to an industrial-size ...Naming evolution's winners and losers
... Mammals and many species of birds and fish are among evolution's "winners," while crocodiles, alligators and a reptile cousin of snakes known as the tuatara are among the losers, according to new research by UCLA scientists and colleagues. "Our results indicate ...World's largest snake discovered in fossilized rainforest
... the evolution of giant snakes." said Head "This shows how much more information about the history of Earth there is to glean from a resource like the reptile fossil record." Titanoboa 's size indicates that it lived in an environment where the average yearly temperature was 30-34 degrees Celsius. This ...World's biggest snake gives climate clues
...shedding new light on the climate and environment that housed the monstrous reptile 60 million years ago. "This colossal, boa constrictor-like creature stre...n any previously discovered, says Head, lead author on the paper. The giant reptile weighed more than 1.25 tons, was more than 13 metres long and had a body so...Plague of kangaroos threatens one of Australia's last remaining original native grasslands
...o hear of the rediscovery of a fellow inhabitant believed to be extinct. The grassland earless dragon (Tympanocrytis pinguicolla) is one of the rarest reptile species in the world. Only a few populations on the outskirts of Canberra have survived. These tiny lizards, which weigh just five grams, are so good ...First analysis of platypus genome may impact disease prevention
... taken this theory to an entirely new level, proving that platypus looks arent only skin-deep their DNA is an equally cobbled-together array of bird, reptile and mammalian lineages. The consortium conducted the first analysis of platypus DNA in what was the largest platypus population genetics study to ...Duck-billed platypus genome sequence published
... odd mix of characteristics seen in the platypus, those that were more like reptile and birds and which were like mammals. The team found that the platypus...ver the course of evolutionary time which had been passed on from ancestral reptile genomes. The reptilian lineage displays a similar duplication of venom gene...