500-billion-year-old fossil reveals where spiders on your wall came from
However, this new research, led by Nicholas Strausfeld of the University of Arizona and published in Current Biology, challenges that narrative.
Illustration of what the Mollisonia animal would have looked like at the time it lived, more than 500 million years ago. (Photo: Nick Strausfeld)
The Fossil That Changed the StoryMollisonia symmetrica was discovered in Cambrian-age rocks and is preserved in remarkable detail, enough to study its brain and nervous system. Traditionally classified as a primitive chelicerate, its external features, a broad carapace and a sturdy, segmented trunk, are reminiscent of early marine arthropods like horseshoe crabs.But careful imaging and analysis revealed something stunning: the neural anatomy of Mollisonia matches closely with that of modern arachnids, not horseshoe crabs or other arthropods.The key finding confirmed Mollisonia's prosoma (the front part of its body) contains a radiating pattern of segmented ganglia, similar to spiders and scorpions. Its unsegmented brain extends short nerves to a pair of pincer-like appendages, similar to spider fangs.The most decisive feature is its brain's orientation, which is flipped compared to crustaceans, insects, centipedes, and even horseshoe crabs. This defining structure, also seen in living arachnids, likely allowed for faster neural control, crucial for predation and the intricate movements involved in web-spinning.'It's as if the Limulus-type brain, seen in horseshoe crabs, was flipped backwards, exactly what we find in modern spiders,' Strausfeld explained. Such neural traits, found only in arachnids, place Mollisonia as a direct ancestor within this lineage, not a marine side branch.Statistical analyses of over 100 anatomical traits across extinct and living arthropods reinforced the finding: Mollisonia is closely related to today's spiders, scorpions, sun spiders, and other arachnids.This new perspective suggests arachnids evolved many of their key traits underwater before some later lineages ventured onto land, possibly preying on ancestral insects and millipedes and driving evolutionary innovations like insect flight for escape.- EndsMust Watch
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The Print
21 hours ago
- The Print
COVID-19 pandemic may have aged your brain, even if you weren't infected, finds UK study
According to the researchers, however, these changes could be 'partially reversible' but the most significant aspect highlighted in the study was how much simply living through the uncertainty and isolation of the pandemic affected brain health. Using brain scans from nearly 1,000 healthy adults from before and after the pandemic, researchers found signs of faster brain ageing, especially in older adults, men, and those from disadvantaged backgrounds. Of these samples, those who were infected with COVID-19 also showed some decline in thinking speed and flexibility. But overall, the pandemic's stress alone did shift brain structure in all individuals whose scans were reviewed. New Delhi: A new study from the University of Nottingham has found that just living through the COVID-19 pandemic may have aged people's brains faster, even if they never got infected with the virus itself. The peer-reviewed study was published on 22 July in the journal Nature Communications and is based on data from the UK Biobank Study. It's a powerful reminder that our environment matters for our brain's growth. Read more here. Also Read: A UK health study has collected a whopping 100,000 full-body scans, and Neanderthals had 'family recipes' Spiders originally came from the sea? Next, we might have evidence that spiders could have originally been sea creatures. At least that is what a new peer-reviewed study published in the journal Current Biology on 22 July suggests, after researchers closely examined a preserved fossil from half a billion years ago. The fossil is called Mollisonia symmetrica, and it has a nervous system very similar to that of modern-day arachnids like spiders and scorpions. Until now, scientists thought these creatures only evolved once their ancestors moved onto land 400 million years ago and have remained the same ever since. But this new study flips that theory on its head, quite literally. It cites evidence of the brain of the fossil Mollisonia, which shows a reversed organisation—a signature trait seen in today's arachnids. This arrangement may have given them faster reflexes, better control, and precision, which are all traits modern-day spiders use to hunt and weave webs. The fossil places Mollisonia as a close relative of modern arachnids, meaning these creatures might have started evolving in the ocean long before they crept onto land. Read more here. Scientists genome sequence 100-yr-old Spanish Flu virus A 100-year-old lung sample from Switzerland helped scientists decode the deadliest flu in human history. A new peer-reviewed study by researchers from the Universities of Basel and Zurich published in BMC Biology Journal on 1 July sequenced the genome of the 1918 'Spanish flu' virus. They used preserved tissue from a young patient who died during the pandemic's first wave in Switzerland. The Spanish flu that spread across Europe and Asia in the 1910s is said to have killed between 20-100 million people. By decoding the genome, scientists now have insights into how this flu had already adapted to humans early on. They found three key mutations in the genome—two which helped the virus evade the human immune system, and one which boosted its ability to infect human cells. What makes this study stand out is also how they conducted the study. In viral flus, the genetic information rests in the RNA, not the DNA. The RNA is very quick to degrade but these scientists developed a method to recover ancient viral RNA. This technique could open the door to learning more from historic outbreaks. Read more here. Arctic winter is melting, and researchers have noticed it A group of scientists led by Dr James Bradley from Queen Mary University, London, published a commentary in Nature Communications on 21 July talking about the 'shockingly warm' winter conditions in the Arctic. The team described how they had geared up for winter Arctic fieldwork in Svalbard, wearing layers of thermal clothing, only to find themselves drenched in rain, standing on bare grass, and working without even needing gloves in what is supposed to be the middle of winter in February 2025. Svalbard is a Norwegian archipelago located where the Arctic Ocean converges with the Atlantic Ocean. In the commentary, they raised alarms about melted snow pools, blooming vegetation, and rain replacing snow in the Arctic Circle during winters. Svalbard is heating up six to seven times faster than the global average, and the Arctic winter is no longer reliably frozen, said the team. These conditions not only disrupted their research but also raised safety concerns, like how to retreat from polar bears without their snowmobiles working. The team warns that winter warming in the Arctic is not a fluke but rather the new norm. The message sent by the commentary is clear: climate policy needs to catch up, and fast. Read more here. Also Read: A fiery side-effect of melting glaciers & paging Dr Droid for gallbladder surgery
India Today
5 days ago
- India Today
500-billion-year-old fossil reveals where spiders on your wall came from
A fossil discovery is turning conventional wisdom about spider evolution upside down.A new study of Mollisonia symmetrica, a 500-million-year-old marine fossil, reveals that arachnids, spiders and their relatives, evolved in the ocean rather than exclusively on land as previously and scorpions have ruled as terrestrial predators for 400 million years, with their success often attributed to adaptations for life on land. Until now, the fossil record suggested that arachnids originated and diversified only after their ancestors conquered terrestrial However, this new research, led by Nicholas Strausfeld of the University of Arizona and published in Current Biology, challenges that narrative. Illustration of what the Mollisonia animal would have looked like at the time it lived, more than 500 million years ago. (Photo: Nick Strausfeld) The Fossil That Changed the StoryMollisonia symmetrica was discovered in Cambrian-age rocks and is preserved in remarkable detail, enough to study its brain and nervous system. Traditionally classified as a primitive chelicerate, its external features, a broad carapace and a sturdy, segmented trunk, are reminiscent of early marine arthropods like horseshoe careful imaging and analysis revealed something stunning: the neural anatomy of Mollisonia matches closely with that of modern arachnids, not horseshoe crabs or other key finding confirmed Mollisonia's prosoma (the front part of its body) contains a radiating pattern of segmented ganglia, similar to spiders and scorpions. Its unsegmented brain extends short nerves to a pair of pincer-like appendages, similar to spider most decisive feature is its brain's orientation, which is flipped compared to crustaceans, insects, centipedes, and even horseshoe crabs. This defining structure, also seen in living arachnids, likely allowed for faster neural control, crucial for predation and the intricate movements involved in web-spinning.'It's as if the Limulus-type brain, seen in horseshoe crabs, was flipped backwards, exactly what we find in modern spiders,' Strausfeld explained. Such neural traits, found only in arachnids, place Mollisonia as a direct ancestor within this lineage, not a marine side analyses of over 100 anatomical traits across extinct and living arthropods reinforced the finding: Mollisonia is closely related to today's spiders, scorpions, sun spiders, and other new perspective suggests arachnids evolved many of their key traits underwater before some later lineages ventured onto land, possibly preying on ancestral insects and millipedes and driving evolutionary innovations like insect flight for escape.- EndsMust Watch
Indian Express
7 days ago
- Indian Express
Ever woken up tired after full night's sleep? Neuroscientists study brain scans to find out why
We've all had those mornings when no matter how early we slept or how long we rested, waking up still feels like a battle. Now, new research suggests the problem might not be your bedtime habits, but what's actually happening inside your brain when you wake up. A new study, published in Current Biology, looked at how our brain works during the time when we wake up. Scientists at the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience tracked the brain activity of 20 people, recording more than 1,000 wake-ups, some natural, others triggered by an alarm. 'The surprise is how consistent [this pattern] was across every awakening and also how it related to the subjective measures,' Francesca Siclari, the study's senior author and a neuroscientist at the Institute, was quoted as saying by Nature. Each person wore a special cap with 256 sensors that picked up brain signals every second. By watching how the brain 'turned on,' the researchers found that the way people woke up depended on which stage of sleep they were in. When people were woken up during REM sleep– the stage when we usually dream, they were more likely to feel tired and slow. That's because their brain switched on in a certain order. First, the front part of the brain (which helps with thinking and decision-making) becomes active. Then, a slow wave of activity moves to the back of the brain, where we process what we see. In contrast, people woken from non-REM sleep had a slightly different pattern. The brain wave started more in the middle and moved in the same direction but may have felt more natural. This research could help doctors better understand why some people wake up feeling refreshed while others feel tired, even if they slept for the same amount of time. It might also help in studying sleep disorders or problems like feeling tired all the time. 'Knowing exactly how brain activity is characterized during a normal awakening [means] we can better compare it to these abnormal awakenings,' Siclari said. While more studies are needed, especially to see how other factors such as body movement affect sleep, this study shows that how we wake up matters just as much as how long we sleep. (This article has been curated by Kaashvi Khubyani, who is an intern with The Indian Express)
