Is it possible to find a common set of genes for regeneration, that could unlock a new understanding of this process? A comparison of the expression of thousands of genes from six animals found little evidence of a core conserved trait, but does point to some new areas to investigate.

For decades, Ryosuke Motani, a professor in the UC Davis Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, has teased apart that very question by studying fossils in tandem with leading-edge computational and chemical analysis techniques. His research has led to landmark discoveries, from using eye socket measurements to determine that some dinosaurs were nocturnal to revealing how land animals adapted to the ocean, among a host of other discoveries.

As we reckon with the effects of climate change, so too must the other organisms that call Earth home. But what if you couldn’t move away from your dwelling to escape a threat? What if your shelter, your refuge, was a part of your body?

Working in the lab of Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences Ryosuke Motani, doctoral candidate Benjamin Faulkner is exploring how plant-eating developed in diapsids, a lineage that includes dinosaurs and modern day lizards, snakes, turtles, birds and crocodilians.