In tadpoles, both human ear and fish gill enhancers showed activity in their gills. In lizards, a related program was active in a small bone-like structure in their middle ears.

Scientists have traced the evolutionary origin of humans' outer ears to the gills of ancient fish through a series of gene-editing experiments.

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The genes that build the cartilage of fish gills were repurposed to build the cartilage in mammals’ outer ears. Skip to main content. Scientific American. January 22, 2025. 7 min read.

It’s evolutionary biology.In a fascinating new discovery, scientists have found evidence suggesting that the flexible outer part of human ears may have evolved from the gills of ancient fish.

After being swallowed alive, Japanese eels were able to escape from a predator fish’s stomach and swim to freedom through the fish’s gills, new research shows.

After they were swallowed, all but four of the eels tried to get out by going back through the fish’s digestive tract toward its esophagus and gills. Of those, 13 managed to get their tails out ...

Gene-editing experiments indicate that cartilage in fish gills migrated into the ear canal millions of years ago during the course of our evolution.Going even further back, our outer ears may have ...

Scientists have traced the evolutionary origin of humans' outer ears to the gills of ancient fish through a series of gene-editing experiments.