A giant stem-group chaetognath.

Chaetognaths, with their characteristic grasping spines, are the oldest known pelagic predators, found in the lowest Cambrian (Terreneuvian). Here, we describe a large stem chaetognath, gen. et sp.

Homology of the head sensory structures between Heterotardigrada and Eutardigrada supported in a new species of water bear (Ramazzottiidae: Ramazzottius).

Phylum Tardigrada is represented by microscopic eight-legged panarthropods that inhabit terrestrial and marine environments. Although tardigrades are emerging model animals for areas of research including physiology, evolutionary biology, and astrobiology, knowledge of their external morphology remains insufficient. For instance, homologies between marine and terrestrial relatives largely remain unexplored.

Cambrian lobopodians shed light on the origin of the tardigrade body plan.

Phylum Tardigrada (water bears), well known for their cryptobiosis, includes small invertebrates with four paired limbs and is divided into two classes: Eutardigrada and Heterotardigrada. The evolutionary origin of Tardigrada is known to lie within the lobopodians, which are extinct soft-bodied worms with lobopodous limbs mostly discovered at sites of exceptionally well-preserved fossils. Contrary to their closest relatives, onychophorans and euarthropods, the origin of morphological characters of tardigrades remains unclear, and detailed comparison with the lobopodians has not been well explored.

The complete mitochondrial genome of the Arctic fairy shrimp (Müller, 1788) (Anostraca, Branchinectidae) from Sirius Passet, North Greenland.

Here we report the complete mitochondrial genome of the Arctic fairy shrimp, (Müller, 1788) (Anostraca, Branchinectidae), which was collected in the High Arctic of North Greenland. A complete 16,059 bp mitochondrion of was sequenced and assembled with the Illumina next generation sequencing platform. The mitogenome contains 13 PCGs, 22 tRNAs and 2 rRNA genes that are commonly observed in most metazoans and shows the conserved gene arrangement pattern of Anostraca.

MarkeTrak-Tracking the Pulse of the Hearing Aid Market.

The MarkeTrak surveys conducted by the Hearing Industries Association have been looking at trends in the hearing industry since 1989. The latest survey, MarkeTrak 2022, reviews ongoing trends in hearing device adoption including PSAPs and implants, satisfaction with hearing aids and hearing professionals, and a look into insurance coverage and price considerations. These are discussed as they relate to the five key areas of the marketing mix: people, products, price, place, and perception.