Summary: Wilson & Krause (2012)

There has recently been a surge of interest in animal personality. Yet, how and why animal personalities arise, their adaptive significance and consistency of traits across ontogeny remain relatively poorly understood. Similarly, the underlying developmental processes governing metamorphosis remain poorly understood and under-appreciated. Wilson & Krause (2012) suggest that animals that undergo metamorphosis represent a unique opportunity to study the physiological, morphological and ecological influences on personality differences throughout the process of development.

Summary: Lum & Clevers (2012)

In 2012, a small molecule called LGK974, targeting Wnt-mediated cellular signalling entered the first stage of clinical trials. This type of cellular signalling is important in animal development and tissue homeostasis and, as a result, has been identified as a high-priority anticancer drug target. The target of LGK974 is an acyltransferase called Porcupine (PORCN), which adds fatty acids to Wnt. PORCN is a member (the founder) of the 16-gene family that has predicted acyltransferase activity. The fatty acid modification of Wnt is essential to the activity of proteins coded by PORCN. Lum & Clevers (2012) suggest that the proposed use of a PORCN inhibitor for targeting the Wnt signalling pathway in cancer reflects a growing confidence in the use of non-traditional anti-cancer treatments that target  cellular processes important in embryonic development.

Summary: Francis et al. (2002)

It has long been known that maternal care variations in adult rats are associated with changes in neurochemistry and behaviour. When rats receive higher levels of maternal care behaviour as pups, they are less fearful as adults and tend to show higher levels of maternal behaviour themselves. It has been suggested that both oxytocin and vasopressin are important in the expression of anxiety and social behaviour. Francis et al. (2002) assessed whether the variations observed in maternal care behaviour were associated with differences in both oxytocin and vasopressin receptors in adult offspring brains. Oxytocin binding was increased in adult females (in both the central nucleus of the amygdala and the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis) that received higher levels of maternal care as pups. The same response was not observed in adult males. Francis et al. (2002) did, however, find that amygdala vasopressin increased in adult males that received higher levels of maternal care as pups and, again, this response was sex-specific. They suggest that maternal care influences the expression of oxytocin and vasopressin receptors in a sex-specific manner.

Summary: Kreysing et al. (2012)

Vertebrate retinae are diverse, but, in general, are specialised either to maximise the amount of light hitting the retina (increased number of rods) or to enhance visual acuity (increased number of cones). Kreysing et al. (2012) noted a different functional type of retinae in elephantnose fish (Gnathonemus petersii) that is optimised for neither purpose. They found that cone photoreceptors group together in "reflecting, photonic crystal-lined cups" and these act as macroreceptors. In contrast, they found that rod photoreceptors occur behind these reflector cups, not in them. Interestingly, this arrangement matches photoreceptor sensitivity and allows for detecting mixed-colour stimuli and the grouping of these photoreceptor cells results in insensitivity to spatial noise. These allow for a more reliable flight reaction, given the fish's habitat (dim and turbid).