Reconstructing the evolutionary assembly of animal body plans is challenging when there are large morphological gaps between extant sister taxa, as in the case of echinozoans (echinoids and holothurians). However, the inclusion of extinct taxa can help bridge these gaps. Here we describe a new species of echinozoan, Sollasina cthulhu, from the Silurian Herefordshire Lagerstätte, UK. S. cthulhu belongs to the ophiocistioids, an extinct group that shares characters with both echinoids and holothurians. Using physical-optical...

Previous reports link differential DNA methylation (DNAme) to environmental exposures which are associated with lung function. Direct evidence on lung function DNAme is however limited. We undertook an agnostic epigenome-wide association study (EWAS) on pre-bronchodilation lung function and its change in adults. In a discovery-replication EWAS design, DNAme in blood and spirometry were measured twice, six-to-15 years apart, in the same participants of three adult population-based discovery cohorts (n=2,043). Associated DNAme markers (P<5x10-7) were tested...

Natural enemies - predators and parasites - largely shape the dynamics of ecosystems. It is known that anti-predator and anti-parasite defense can be mutually conflicting, however consequences of this trade-off for the regulation of infection burden in animals are still poorly understood. We hypothesize that even in the absence of cues from predators, innate anti-predator behavior (“ghost of predation past”) interferes with defense against parasites and can enhance the infection risk. As a case study,...