The Wnt signal transduction pathway has essential roles in the formation of the primary body
axis during development, cellular differentiation and tissue homeostasis. This animal …

Bilateria have bilateral symmetry and are subdivided into Deuterostomia (animals like
vertebrates) and Protostomia (animals like insects and mollusks). Neuropeptides occur in …

Although discussed by 20th century philosophers in terms drawn from the sciences of non-
living systems, in recent decades biological function has been considered in relationship to …

Bacterial signal transduction systems are typically activated by the binding of signal
molecules to receptor ligand binding domains (LBDs), such as the NIT LBD. We report here …

Placozoa is an ancient phylum of extraordinarily unusual animals: miniscule, ameboid
creatures that lack most fundamental animal features. Despite high genetic diversity, only …

Understanding how cells communicated before the evolution of nervous systems in early
metazoans is key to unraveling the origins of multicellular life. We focused on Trichoplax …

Placozoans are essential reference species for understanding the origins and evolution of
animal organization. However, little is known about their life strategies in natural habitats …

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and its reverse mechanism, mesenchymal-
epithelial transition (MET), are evolutionarily conserved mechanisms initially identified in …

Many known evolutionary lineages have yet to be described formally due to a lack of
traditional morphological characters. This is true for genetically distinctive groups within the …

The innovation of multicellularity has driven the unparalleled evolution of animals (Metazoa).
But how is a multicellular organism formed and how is its architecture maintained faithfully …