Songbird genome sings of the communicating brain

"There is a functional developmental parallel between the way a bird learns to sing and a human learns to speak," said David Clayton, a professor of neuroscience and cell and developmental biology at the University of Illinois who led the group that proposed and organized the genome sequencing effort. Photo by L. Brian Stauffer
Professor of Neuroscience and Cell and Developmental Biology David Clayton and colleagues have analyzed the genome of the Australian zebra finch, deriving clues to its use of song in vocal communication.

Feng in Chicago Tribune

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MIP professor Albert Feng and his team have discovered how a frog can selectively listen for its mate's calls.

Planarian research sheds light on germ cell formation

(R-L) Phillip Newmark and Yuying Wang
"In a study published this month in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, U. of I. cell and developmental biology professor Phillip Newmark and colleagues report that the tiny flatworms called planarians share some important characteristics with mammals that may help scientists tease...

Honey bee colonies collapse

Gene Robinson
Gene Robinson, professor of integrative biology, entomology, and cell and developmental biology comments on the disappearance of honey bees from colonies across the nation