Share
This illustration from a 14th century Dutch encyclopedia of animal life shows scientists have been thinking about the fin to limb transition for centuries. Der naturen bloeme/Nationale Bibliotheek
Fish had the genes to adapt to life on land while they were still swimming the seas
Feb. 10, 2021 , 3:30 PM
Almost 700 years ago, Jacob van Maerlant, a Dutch poet, envisioned a fish all set for life on land: It had sprouted arms to hoist itself ashore. Now, three genetic studies make his fantasy look remarkably prescient. Together, the studies suggest that in terms of genes, the aquatic precursors of four-limbed land animals, or tetrapods, were as well-prepared as the Dutch fantasy fish. They were pre-equipped with genes that could be turned to making limbs, efficient air-breathing lungs, and nervous systems tuned to the challenges of life on land.
United-states
Netherlands
Copenhagen
Køavn
Denmark
China
Porto
Portugal
Spain
Ottawa
Ontario
Canada
SCOTLAND SUPPLEMENT II - A joint oppressor
Left nationalists are in thrall to a bogus history, argues Jack Conrad. Scotland was not subject to an English takeover with the 1707 Act of Union. Nor does Scotland suffer from English cultural imperialism
Europe’s first nations had an embryonic existence, which for the sake of neatness is usually dated back to the 13th and 14th centuries. Here we have fertilisation, eg, Geoffrey Chaucer and his use of Middle English in works such as
Tales of Caunterbury (1400). At the time the prestigious languages in England were Norman-French and Latin. Chaucer’s Middle English reflected the growing importance of market relations: ie, circulation, and the rise of capitalism. He was the first author of standing to use many common English phrases and words: ‘add’, ‘agree’, ‘desk’, ‘dishonest’, etc. Because of the printing press, by the early 16th century, his writings gained a mass audience amongst the educated minority. All part of
United-provinces
Uttar-pradesh
India
City-of-london
London
City-of
United-kingdom
Australia
Afghanistan
United-states
Culloden
Queensland