Shark gills and human limbs just might share a genetic program, according to a recent University of Cambridge study published in the journal Development.
Shark gills and human limbs just might share a genetic program, according to a recent University of Cambridge study published in the journal Development. The discovery supports a long-abandoned theory of how limbs developed--and does so via the Sonic hedgehog gene.
The gene is named after the popular videogame character, while the theory, originally espoused by Karl Gegenbaur in 1878, held that the gills of cartilaginous fishes like sharks and skates evolved into paired fins and eventually, the limbs of jawed vertebrates.
Using advanced genetic testing, the team determined
