Aew animals, grateful science! All biologists know that it is by deciphering the mechanisms in force among our cousins, more or less distant, that we understand the foundations of biology. You only have to look at the list of Nobel Prize winners to be convinced: many of them based their discoveries on animal studies. Not just any animals, however. In laboratories, a few species take the lion’s share. The worm C. elegansthe Drosophila fly, the mouse or, more recently, the zebrafish concentrate most of the research. The reason for this is simple: all researchers rely on work previously carried out, which does not invite diversity. Furthermore, as science becomes more complex, the tools to be designed, particularly in molecular biology, are increasingly specific. Releasing “model animals” therefore appears difficult. “However, once you agree to give it the time and energy necessary, making discoveries becomes easy”assures Michel Milinkovitch, professor of genetics and evolution at the University of Geneva.
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For many years, he has been looking at other critters. Snakes, lizards, hedgehogs… He has just added a little chicken to his laboratory’s menu. In the magazine Nature on December 12, he published a striking article devoted to the Nile crocodile. By studying the growth of its embryos, he was able to show that the scales on its mouth did not come from a classic genetic process of cellular specialization, like bird feathers, rodent hairs or most reptile scales, but simple physical constraints, the mechanisms of which he highlighted.
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