By about 175 million years ago, a group known as Pennaraptora had emerged - the closest known relatives of modern birds and the only dinosaur lineage to survive the mass extinction 66 million years ...

Spots v stripes A discovery that reveals how bird feathers get their patterns also has implications for regenerative medicine, say scientists. Feathers not only keep birds warm and protect them from ...

A primordial developmental toolkit shared by all vertebrates, and described by a theory of the mathematician Alan Turing, sets the growth pattern for all types of skin structures. In 1952, well before ...