Sunday School--The Ocean Sunfish

The Ocean Sunfish (Mola mola) has to be one of the strangest fish in the world. It's huge, flat body without an obvious tail make it appear unrelated to other, more familiar fish species.  But taxonomist place the Ocean Sunfish in the order Tetraodaontiformes, which includes pufferfish.

When compared with the typical puffers such as the figure-eight puffer, commonly found in pet stores, it is difficult to find obvious similarities.  The figure-eight puffer has a round, chubby body, a longer tail.  The Ocean Sunfish is flattened along its vertical access and displays a great degree of symmetry along its horizontal access giving the top and bottom halves a mirror image appearance.

But when compared to another puffer species, the bronze puffer, the similarities are more evident.  The bronze puffer is more laterally compressed than the figure-eight puffer, and shows a much greater degree of symmetry in the dorsal and anal fins.

Other features of the Ocean Sunfish also indicate its close affinity with puffers.  The structure of the mouth is one example.  The larvae of fish from both groups are also very similar.

Mice with Stuffy Noses--A Medical Breakthrough?

This article describes the latest in perverse, "Frankensteinian" abuse of adorable living things by scientist.  But this time there's a twist--scientists have finally made an abomination of nature specifically for people like me.  For years I have suffered the debilitating effects of chronic sinusitis due to a little extra flab in my nasal passages.  

These little mice are genetically engineered to function as model organisms with chronic sinus problems so that scientists can better understand the causes and potential treatment of this common condition.