Monday, 5 November 2012

NUI MAYNOOTH RESEARCH TEAM PINPOINTS EVOLUTIONARY ORIGINS OF SIGHT

NUI MaynoothCommunications OfficePress ReleaseDavide Pisani Eye


Humans share chemical basis for vision with simplest organisms 
Breakthrough study published in PNAS today

A team of NUI Maynooth biological scientists, led by Dr Davide Pisani has made a significant breakthrough in our understanding of the origins of sight in all animals, including humans.  They have traced the common genetic links behind vision to a relatively short period of time around 700 million years ago – a much earlier and concentrated point in evolutionary history than previously understood and shown that man shares the same molecular building blocks enabling vision with the simplest organisms that can detect light.

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