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Discovery sheds light on how vertebrates see
Professor Gabbot
Professor Sarah Gabbot led the research.
Researchers identify details in eyes of fossilised fish

A study of fossilised fish has quashed a long-standing theory on how vertebrates see.

After million's of years of degeneration, today's hagfish are completely blind. Research published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, however, suggests that ancient hagfish had good vision.

In the study, researchers analysed detail in the eyes of 300-million-year-old lamprey and hagfish fossils.

Using a high-powered microscope, they found that fossil retina is composed of minute structures called melanosomes. These are the same structures that occur in human eyes and prevent stray light bouncing around in the eye, allowing us to form a clear image.

This is the first time that such detail in fossils has been revealed. Before now it was thought that such anatomical details could not be preserved.

Professor Sarah Gabbot, who led the research, explains: “To date models of vertebrate eye evolution focus only on living animals and the blind and ‘rudimentary’ hagfish eye was held-up as critical evidence of an intermediate stage in eye evolution.

"Living hagfish eyes appeared to sit between the simple light sensitive eye ‘spots’ of non-vertebrates and the sophisticated camera-style eyes of lampreys and most other vertebrates.”

Detail observed in the hagfish fossil suggest it had a functional visual system. This means that the vision of living hagfish has been lost through millions of years of evolution, and the animal is therefore not as primitively simple as researchers first thought.

Professor Gabbot says that she will now inspect the eyes of other ancient vertebrate fossils to see if it is possible to build a picture of the sequence of events that took place in early vertebrate eye evolution.

 

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Vets to run marathon for World Animal Protection

News Story 1
 Two recently graduated veterinary surgeons will be running the London Marathon in April to raise money for the charity World Animal Protection.

Alex Bartlett and Maeve O'Neill plan to run the race together if they are given the same start times.

Dr O'Neill said: "You're always limited in what you can do to help animals, so it is nice to raise money for a charity that helps animals around the world."

Dr Bartlett added: "I have never run a marathon before and am excited to run my first one for such a good cause!"

Both Dr Bartlett and Dr O'Neill have fundraising pages online. 

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News Shorts
BSAVA releases new Guide to Procedures

The British Small Animal Veterinary Association (BSAVA) has published a new edition of its Guide to Procedures for Small Animal Practice.

It has added four new procedures; cystostomy tube placement, endotracheal intubation, point-of-care ultrasound and wet-to-dry dressings.

BSAVA says that it is an essential step-by-step guide to diagnostic and therapeutic procedures performed in practice. The textbook includes new images and illustrations, as well as high-definition videos for use prior to procedures.

Nick Bexfield and Julia Riggs, editors of the new edition, said: "We have built upon the success of the previous editions by responding to the feedback received from the BSAVA readership, and hope this new guide helps to further increase the confidence and accuracy with which these procedures are performed."

Print copies are available in the BSAVA store, with a digital version in the BSAVA library.