life inspired

"Dissecting the genetic basis of a species' physical features is regular research fodder. So why not do the same for the inanimate objects that some animals produce, such as beehives or beaver dams? On page 402 of this issue, Weber and colleagues show that the sophisticated burrows of oldfield mice can be understood using straightforward genetics, shedding light on how this classic 'extended phenotype' evolved ()." News article @ Nature. Full article: J. N. Weber et al. Nature 493, 402–405; 2013

Labels: genetics; evolution;