{"id":56353,"date":"2025-10-08T20:18:11","date_gmt":"2025-10-08T14:48:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=56353"},"modified":"2025-10-09T12:01:48","modified_gmt":"2025-10-09T06:31:48","slug":"evolution-of-bat-wings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/08-10-2025\/evolution-of-bat-wings","title":{"rendered":"Evolution of Bat Wings\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS3\/Science<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A study published in Nature Ecology &amp; Evolution explores<strong> how bats evolved wings from the same five-digit mammalian limb structure.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Key Points<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Bats are the only mammals that can fly.<\/strong> Their wings formed from the same five-fingered limbs found in other mammals.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Earlier, scientists thought bats kept the skin between their fingers by <strong>stopping cell death<\/strong>, but the study shows <strong>cell death still happens<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Researchers found special <strong>fibroblast cells<\/strong> in bats\u2019 wings that help form the thin skin (called <strong>chiropatagium<\/strong>) used for flying.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Fibroblast cells<\/strong> are connective tissue cells that help make and repair skin.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Two genes, <strong>MEIS2<\/strong> and <strong>TBX3<\/strong>, stay active in bats and help these cells build wings.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>When these genes were added to <strong>mouse embryos<\/strong>, the mice grew <strong>webbed fingers<\/strong>, like early bat wings.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Significance of the Study<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Evolutionary Insights: <\/strong>Supports the idea that major evolutionary innovations (like wings) often arise from modifying existing genetic networks, not creating new genes.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Human health: <\/strong>Provides insight into <strong>syndactyly (fused fingers)<\/strong>, a developmental disorder possibly linked to similar gene regulation errors.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Comparative evolution:<\/strong> Suggests similar genetic repurposing might underlie the evolution of bird wings, fish fins, and whale flippers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-background\" style=\"background-color:#fff2cc\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Key Facts about Bats<\/strong><br>&#8211; Bats are mammals belonging to the <strong>order Chiroptera and are the only mammals capable of sustained powered flight<\/strong>, with wings made of stretched skin over elongated finger bones.<br>&#8211; There are over 1,400 species of bats worldwide, constituting about <strong>20% of all mammal species. <\/strong>They inhabit almost every continent except Antarctica, thriving mainly in tropical regions.<br>&#8211; Bats are <strong>crucial for ecosystems as pollinators f<\/strong>or many plants, agents of seed dispersal, and natural controllers of insect populations, including agricultural pests.<br>&#8211; <strong>Most bats use echolocation<\/strong>\u2014high-frequency sound waves\u2014for navigation and hunting in the dark, a unique adaptation that allows them to exploit nocturnal ecological niches effectively.<br>&#8211; <strong>Unlike birds, bats cannot take off from the ground easily<\/strong>; they hang upside down to launch into flight. They rest during daytime, often in caves or hollow trees, forming colonies that can range widely in size.<br>&#8211; The <strong>Indian flying fox (Pteropus giganteus) is among the largest bats in India<\/strong> and a critical species for pollination and ecosystem health.<br>&#8211; Bats are known<strong> reservoirs of numerous viruses<\/strong>, including coronaviruses, Nipah virus, and Ebola, yet they exhibit remarkable immunity and longevity which is a subject of scientific research.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/epaper.thehindu.com\/ccidist-ws\/th\/th_international\/issues\/151161\/OPS\/GKHEVH3LJ.1+G9QF0EHFL.1.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>TH<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Context<\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">A study published in Nature Ecology &#038; Evolution explores how bats evolved wings from the same five-digit mammalian limb structure.<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong>Key Points<\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Bats are the only mammals that can fly. Their wings formed from the same five-fingered limbs found in other mammals.<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Earlier, scientists thought bats kept the skin between their fingers by stopping cell death, but the study shows cell death still happens.<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Researchers found special fibroblast cells in bats\u2019 wings that help form the thin skin (called chiropatagium) used for flying.<\/li>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/08-10-2025\/evolution-of-bat-wings\" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read\u00a0More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-56353","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56353","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56353"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56353\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":56368,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56353\/revisions\/56368"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56353"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56353"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56353"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}