Video: Your Inner Fish
In lieu of a presentation by a live person (as opposed to a dead one, like GRW), we will screen the video "Your Inner Fish" (https://www.pbs.org/video/your-inner-fish-program-your-inner-fish-2/). Mr. Shane Learman shall serve as scribe.
Having read Neil Shubin's masterpiece of a book (of which this video is based on) as an undergraduate, I can say that the pages of his book translated fairly well as documentary. From embryological evidence, to the discovery of Tiktaalik roseae deep in the Devonian fossil record, our inner fish is still alive and present within our own bodies. Our gill pouches as an embryo and the basic tetrapod forelimb plan we can thank our "fishapod" ancestors that made the transition from the water to the land 360 million years ago. It just goes to show that humans are both special and not special as we are just another ape in the trees and another fish in the sea.
ReplyDeleteAs a fish paleontologist, Dr. Neil Shubin worked to connect the roadmaps between the human body and that of other creatures, specifically fish. As the chair of the anatomy department at a Chicago university, he was able to combine his love of studying fish with discovering a defining piece of human anatomy to show that fish and humans share a common ancestor which can be seen through the underlying theme of humans and fish having the same set of bones.
ReplyDeleteIn order to study the connection between humans and fish, he sought to find transitional fish fossils; transitional meaning the creatures were fish on the brink of transition to life on land.
Dr. Shubin discovered a new species by digging up a shoulder girdle of what appeared to be an early four-legged animal; and, from that fossil was able to look at how much movement was possible at joints in those early tetrapods compared to modern animal bones. He was able to compare the fossil he dug up to several other aquatic and land animals. The particular bones he discovered had a specific structure which suggested the animal had just come onto land due to showing a shoulder joint for swimming and paddling that also would act for stabilization on land.
The part of the video I found most interesting was the discovery of the sonic hedgehog gene. The fact that a genetic connection was made between several different species, proving expression of sonic hedgehog in humans, chickens, and fruit flies for example, is incredible. To think that a single molecule in a single gene provides the signal for limb/digit development is extremely interesting to me. An increase in sonic hedgehog gene expression indicates the development of additional digits and turning down the sonic hedgehog gene would result in fewer digits on the hand, thus proving that a mutation in sonic hedgehog alters the entire expression of the gene. The sonic hedgehog gene was able to be traced back to ancient oceans, showing that your inner fish really does run deep.
The Sonic Hedgehog gene was by far my favorite part of the video too. It was interesting to see that the gene for the signaling of limb development was so highly conserved throughout the majority of our evolutionary history. I did not actually believe the researchers officially named the gene Sonic Hedgehog, so I looked it up and sure enough, they did (SHH for short). However, there is some controversy over the name since the gene has been linked to multiple genetic defects such as the over-expression of the gene leading to extra digits (as shown in the video) and even a severe brain and skull defect called Holoprosencephaly. Doctors have raised the concern of the name Sonic Hedgehog being too unprofessional since a mutation in the gene can be life threatening. So while I think the name is funny, it should either be referenced only as SHH or the name should be changed to something a little more scientific. I definitely enjoyed the video and might have to continue the series if I can find it online.
DeleteThis video kept me entertained the entire time. I was intrigued by the idea that humans and fish have many similarities. Until they were pointed out, I had never thought that much about it other than that they have backbones like us. It seems so obvious after seeing it, but the arm bone structure of other animals through to early tetrapods really struck me as fascinating.
ReplyDeleteThere were many times where Dr. Shubin was so enthusiastic about his work and his discoveries that I suddenly felt very excited about fish paleontology even though I'd never bothered wtih it before. These are the types of people that keep science interesting and moving forward. Definitely some major discoveries presented to us in this film and it was very well executed where it really rekindled a spark of curiosity that had been dwindling for a while.
I agree that Dr. Shubin's enthusiasm and passion in studying fish and tetrapods indeed made me excited about fish paleontology as well. I've always been more focused on human biology/anatomy and running experiments in the lab. Yet, when presented with the parallels given between fish and humans, my eyes were more opened to our evolutionary history. It is important to understand where we come from, both in social and personal history as well as evolutionary history. There is much to be appreciated in the way evolution has affected our fitness and survival.
DeleteIt was a very interesting topic and the video especially was really entertaining .It made me realize we had so many similarities with the fish and the evolution that took place was really informational.It was surprising to know that some of us still possess the gills pouches.Dr Shubin hard work and passion for the love of fish paleontology made me develop more interest in evolutionary history that took place between fish and humans.
ReplyDeleteDr Neil Shubin really did an interesting research where he proves to be really determined,focused and avid about the whole issue. The video was really informative and driving. The discovery of a fossil fish many million years ago that re-framed the transition between fish and land animals was really a great achievement.The embryonic limbs of many animals have shown that they have the same basic body plan. Another captivating part of the video was the discovery of the many genes,hedgehog genes, that control the development across the front -to -back axis of the whole body which meant that generally genes connect all living creatures. The scary part of the video to me was seeing a dead body lying there and its hand being worked on to show how the hand muscles moved. "Your inner fish" video was basically amazing.
ReplyDeleteHaving a casual interest in evolution I found this video to be very interesting and engaging. I found the paleontology portions of the video very engaging. Especially seeing the massive undertaking a paleontological dig is and the inherent luck the researchers had just to discover tiktaalik. I think the most interesting and engaging portion of the research/video is the correlation between tiktaalik`s forelimb and the human forelimb. I have been in courses where this relationship is discussed, but seeing the video and graphic illustrations were extremely compelling. I`ll certainly be grateful for tiktaalik every time I use my hands.
ReplyDeleteThis video was very interesting to me, especially because I have a strong interest in evolution. Seeing how hard the paleontologists work to find little pieces of bones and fossils really showed how patient one has to be for a occupation like that. My favorite part was learning about the hedgehog gene and seeing how scientists can manipulate it to study how limbs develop.
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