"The Origins of Animal Evolution: Tracing the Path of Predatory Lifestyles"

Research on the development of sea anemones suggests that a predatory lifestyle played a significant role in their evolution and the origin of their nervous system. The study found that the larvae of the sea anemone Aiptasia actively feed on living prey using specialized stinging cells and a simple neuronal network. This challenges the idea that the first animals were filter feeders like sponges. The research also sheds light on the importance of nutrition in closing the life cycle of sea anemones and provides a breakthrough for studying endosymbiosis in corals. The findings suggest that the predatory lifestyle of early multicellular organisms may have driven the evolution of complex nervous systems.