Biologists Find That Red-blooded Vertebrates Evolved Twice, Independently

Biologists have found convergent evolution of a key physiological innovation that traces back through the two deepest branches of the vertebrate family tree.

A research team 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.

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