nematostella vectensis

Transparent combtail of the species Mnemiopsis leidyi on a green background

Transplanting cells between ancient branches in the tree of life revealed a fundamental mechanism for building a body

Researchers implanted an “embryonic organizer” from a comb-like organism into another embryo and caused the formation of additional mouths and pharynxes. The tissue was able to activate a similar program in a sea anemone, which is hundreds of millions of years away from it in evolution.