Biologists find that red-blooded vertebrates evolved twice, independently

Nature, in all its glory, is nothing if not thrifty.

Through the process of natural selection, it finds new uses for existing features, often resulting in what is known as convergent evolution -- the development of similar biological traits in different orders of animals, such as powered flight in birds and bats.

Now, research by University of Nebraska-Lincoln biologists has found convergent evolution of a key physiological innovation that traces back through the two deepest branches of the vertebrate family tree.

A team led by Jay Storz (prounounced storts), assistant professor of biological sciences, analyzed the complete genome sequences of multiple vertebrate species and found that jawless fishes (e.g., lampreys and hagfish) and jawed vertebrates (pretty much everything else, including humans) independently invented different mechanisms of blood-oxygen transport to sustain aerobic metabolism.

Read the Article