Chicken embryo study reveals how modern feathers evolved from dinosaurs
Feathers are important for birds today, enabling flight, warmth, and communication.
Feathers are important for birds today, enabling flight, warmth, and communication.
Now, researchers from the University of Geneva have traced the origin of feathers.
Scientists believe feathers evolved from simple structures called proto-feathers, found in some dinosaurs. Early feathers were simple, straw-like tubes, unlike modern branched feathers.
The key to understanding their origin is found in embryonic development and a molecular signaling pathway called Sonic Hedgehog (Shh).