Few months back i wrote a post “Biological classification of animals” dealing the classification of all the animals on our planet Earth, which also happens to be one of most viewed blog post on Hoxful Monsters.In that post we have seen that animals with three germ layers (triploblastic animals) can be divided in protostomes and Deuterostomes based on the fate of first opening of the development. Further we have seen that Deuterostomes can be classified into : Chordata, Echinodermata, Hemichordata and Xenoturbella. Today we shall try to gain some insights …

This post is dedicated to some important terms which we come across quite often while studying any article or chapter related to evolution
What is phylogeny?
The term phylogeny refers to the evolution or historical development of a plant or animal species, or even a human tribe or similar group. (or) Phylogeny represents the historical pattern of relationships among organisms which has resulted from the actions of many different evolutionary processes.
What is a phylogenetic tree?
A phylogenetic tree is a graphical representation of the evolutionary relationship between taxonomic groups.
(or) Cladograms or phylogenetic trees …

Imaginal discs are very fascinating structures observed in larva of holometabolous insects and can be defined as Clusters of undifferentiated embryonic cells in holometabolous insects that proliferate during larval stages and then differentiate during the pupal stage upon induction by ecdysone but in the absence of juvenile hormone. If you are a regular to this blog you might have read in recent post dealing with classification of insects , that holometabolous insects are the ones in which the final instar larvae dramatically changes (metamorphoses) …

Considering huge diversity in number and form among various living beings (plants and Animals) on our planet , its rather impossible to study them in detail, unless divided into different categories based on the differences and similarities between them. As many of you are aware that classification of plants and animals is not something of recent times , evidence from the days of Aristotle is available for Classification. ( For more details on classification of animals refer to previous blog post on “Biological classification of Animals” )
The scientific study …

The most common reason for generating antibodies against a particular protein in Drosophila is to examine its pattern of endogenous expression during development. There are many methods that use the exquisite sensitivity of antibodies to locate a cellular component or a specific molecule (a tissue antigen). This process of localizing proteins in cells of a tissue section exploits the principle of antibodies binding specifically to antigens in biological tissues. The interaction between antibody – antigen can be visualised in different ways like an antibody is conjugated to an enzyme, such …

Yale molecular and evolutionary biologists in collaboration with Department of Energy scientists produced the full genome sequence of Trichoplax, one of nature’s most primitive multicellular organisms, providing a new insight into the evolution of all higher animals.
The findings reported in the online edition of the journal Nature show that while Trichoplax has one of the smallest nuclear genomes found in a multi-cellular creature, it contains signature sequences for gene regulation found in more complex animals and humans. Further, it defines Trichoplax as a branching point of animal evolution.

Drosophila happens to be my favourite animal ever since I first started working with them in 2001.This tiny arthropod has solved many biological puzzles ,thanks to various researchers working on fruit fly all over the world.Initially the word genetics might be scary for beginners as it involves complicated crosses ,which again requires one to remember various genotypes, marker associated with balancers chromosomes and way to recognize them.But I can assure, with some proper guidance and will to learn makes understanding Drosophila Genetics interesting . Many books from various publishers …